Young Justice: Sinister
by Blue and Away
Summary: Red Hood, Vixen and Black Manta? They're trying to fight the Light, save their friends, their families, and the world if they're lucky. But, they'll need some help from heroes that no one has never seen before. SYOC Closed, For Now.
1. Assembly: Part 1

_May 23rd, 2020. Gotham City. 22:54 EST._

Mari McCabe leapt over another grimy Gotham alley. In the late evening it was hard to distinguish between them all, these urban streets a far cry from her home city in Michigan. But, even with the smog and darkness, her eyes could pierce through the night to the street signs below, confirming she had arrived at her date spot.

Despite her invitation to the locale, Vixen felt exposed, even in full costume. A yellow suit, and her Mantu Totem wrapped reassuringly around her throat, she fingered the artifact, growing more anxious with each passing moment.

"Far cry from home, miss," a low voice called from the shadows. She didn't recognize it. Vixen took a cautious step backwards, calling upon the spirit of an owl's night vision to peer at her companion. It was not the man who had invited her.

Red Hood walked out of his cover with gloved hands raised to the sky. "Relax, Vixen, I know this is strange."

"Where's Batman? I received a message that he needed my help," she replied, ignoring his command. She'd seen the Red Hood in action, and knew he was a far cry from a straight and narrow hero she could trust.

Jason Todd stopped moving towards the woman, quickly losing confidence in his own plan now that it was actually in motion. "You should've known it wasn't like him to send that. Have you ever heard of Batman asking for help?"

"I don't hear anything from Batman. I'm not one of his Superfriends in the League."

"None of us really are," a cold, steely voice raised the hairs on the back of Mari's neck. She called on a jungle cat's legs to leap her away from this second man, clearing a dozen meters and landing defensively at the edge of the motel's rooftop. She was not safe.

Black Manta's helmet shined two scarlet eyes, the rest of his dark armor emerged from where he'd been hidden, his presence the last straw for the superheroine. He was a clear sign for her to get the hell of dodge. The spirit of a hawk welled up inside of her, and Vixen soared smoothly down to the sidewalk, far away from the two associates.

"You couldn't have waited like… two minutes, man?" A frustrated Red Hood complained, but his question was only met with a casual shrug.

"I was against bringing another card into the fold anyways. I'm especially against dealing in a coward."

"We _need_ a face people can trust! You and I don't even have faces!" Jason gestured wildly to their helmets, but again was stonewalled.

"I have a damned handsome example of a face," came Black Manta's retort.

"Not after I'm through with it," his partner concluded, leaping off the squat building to go chasing off their escaped hero.

Manta leveled a harpoon gun at the red brick building across the street, pinning a grappling line into its stone and muttering, "As if you'd land a single blow," before getting in on the pursuit.

* * *

 _May 23rd 2020. Gotham City. 23:47 EST_

It took almost a full hour, but Vixen finally felt she'd found herself a spot to rest. The woman was doubled over and heaving breaths in and out. She had no idea where in Gotham she even was, getting lost in the Gothic labyrinth after only a couple minutes into the pursuit.

When she'd received a video message from Batman, she was embarrassed now to remember her excitement. Finally, what she thought was an invitation to the one and only Justice League had come for her, after years of patrolling Detroit's streets in the late hours of the night, she thought she'd finally earned the recognition she deserved.

To find out it was all some two-bit ambush by some supervillains… it was all she could do to keep herself from letting tears flow from her dark eyes. Superheroes didn't cry and she'd be damned if getting left out of some ridiculous club was going to make her break that rule.

A right angle of metal and lead collided with her shoulder, breaking Vixen free of her self-pity. Looking down at the projectile, it was a heavy pistol, and the man behind the throw, Jason Todd, was hacking up a storm, hands on his knees at the end of the alley.

Just as she was beginning to resume her escape to another urban hidey-hole, he yelled out, "I could've," he sucked in some more wind to finish the sentence, "just shot you, but, I didn't."

"If you're expecting some thanks for throwing a gun at me, don't hold your breath."

"I'm just trying to catch it at this point," Red Hood admitted. He took a step into the alley, now leaning against the exterior of a defunct Mongolian restaurant. "Please, don't run. We really just wanna talk."

"I wasn't exactly sure where you landed on the moral compass, Hood," she responded, "but hanging with villains lands you pretty safely in criminal territory."

" _Super_ villain," Black Manta corrected, lurching over the fire escape, four stories above Vixen, a crescent moon and cloudy night sky framed the man.

"Fecal matter works too," she replied, but surprising herself, she didn't run away. She'd faced plenty of criminals before, superpowered and otherwise, but these two lacked something they all had. There wasn't a scrap of killing intent between the pair.

Red Hood finally seemed to catch his breath and composed himself before making a few heavy steps towards Vixen, before the woman stopped him. "That's far enough, Hood."

"I posed as Batman in the message to get you here, we needed to speak with you somewhere I knew was safe."

"I didn't know Gotham was any safer than Detroit," Vixen felt just a bit insulted at the insinuation. Her city wasn't perfect, but she at least managed to keep their population of masks and freaks well below the myriad of Gotham's lunatics.

"We're not talking about criminals, lass," Manta said from his vantage point on high. "We're talking safe from heroes."

Mari's brow furrowed together. "No witnesses for whatever you have planned?" she tried to poise the question as insulting, but now they'd genuinely piqued her curiosity.

"The Justice League has been compromised, Vixen," Red Hood wanted to build up some suspense a bit more, but it didn't seem like theatrics were going to get him very far with her.

"And on whose authority does this information come from?"

"It comes straight from Batman himself."

"Lately his word hasn't been doing much for me."

Black Manta rappelled down from the roof of the building, landing next to Red Hood. Vixen was now beyond surprised. If they were really trying to capture her, the obvious move would be to land on the side opposite his partner. Instead, the seasoned fighter had abandoned a clear vantage point and opted out of surrounding their target. But, there was no way they were telling the truth.

"So why do two partners in crime tell this to me? I'm not much in the way of firepower compared to them."

"You believe us?" Red Hood asked incredulously.

"Of course not," Vixen believed them more than she'd have admitted. She needed to at least act skeptical to their claims. "But, I've come this whole way, might as well entertain me."

"We're assembling a team to fix this. Manta and I are the only members," Red Hood roped a friendly arm around the stalwart villain, who cast a shady glance at the man. "We're in need of a face the public actually trusts."

"So I'm working PR for you two?"

Manta struggled to resist the opportunity, "If you're nice, you can be my secretary," receiving a light push from Red Hood in place of a scolding.

"What he means, is that there's a lot more than just that you'd be doing with us. You're probably the most important piece of our puzzle."

Vixen passed her gaze between the two figures before her. She knew it was entirely foolish to trust them. She knew it was the stupidest thing she could do since she started calling herself a superhero. But, all the same, it was almost too stupid to not believe it. The whole situation was ridiculous.

"I assume you two have proof?"

Jason Todd smiled behind his mask. He picked up his pistol off of the cracked asphalt and holstered the weapon as it satisfyingly clicked into place. "We'd be happy to show you to Exhibit A, if you'll trust us enough to follow along."

"I don't really. Not yet," Vixen admitted, taking a step in their direction nonetheless. "But, if you're lucky, you'll be able to convince me.

"And according to you, the three of us would be meant to take on the most powerful group in the world?"

"Manta and I have a few more people in mind."

"Even more? If the whole League is in some sort of conspiracy, who else is getting an invitation?"

"Nobody you'd know. And that's exactly the point."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm so hyped to begin this new project. My previous attempt, Renaissance, was really problematic, I know as well as anybody. But, I've got here a much more fleshed out concept, a concise story plan, and barrels of excitement for Young Justice: Sinister. For anybody who was a fan of the last run, I'd ask you keep your faith in Sinister, a lot of thought went into this story, and it's every kind of an improvement over my past work. I hope you'll all agree.**

 **If you're interested in submitting a character, the form and contest rules are on my profile. As you can probably tell by these mentors, your characters can be anywhere from a pure-hearted hero to an ambiguous anti-hero, or a full blown villain. Chances are, it'll all work. Good luck in your submissions, and thanks again for reading. I hope you're here for the next chapter as well!**


	2. Assembly: Part 2

_May 29th, 2020. Gotham City. 23:43 EST_

Alexander Jackson Atlas flew across the evening sky, leaving behind him a trail of cyan flames against the clouds and stars. It had been months since he'd become Atomix, the newest member of the Firestorm Matrix, the superhero.

"Your trust in the woman was surprising," an all too familiar voice observed. Nowhere was there another person in the sky with him, instead the speaker came from within his mind, a phenomenon that began the same day he became a part of the Matrix.

"It just means people have taken notice of us, Jason," Atomix responded, addressing the voice within.

"Of you," Jason proudly commended, swelling the young boy's chest with pride as cityscape swept by underneath him.

His compliment had only put the night in perspective. It seemed like the culmination of all his training, late nights, lies he'd told to his grandparents. When the Vixen approached him just a week ago to invite him to a new mission, he was absolutely over the moon, and the four days hadn't passed fast enough.

Decked out in his black Firestorm costume with red trim, hood flowing behind his head, he felt like he'd finally made it.

"Jason, I..." he said, trying to articulate it all, some semblance of a thanks or appreciation. But, nothing quite seemed fitting.

It came as a relief when the voice inside his head saved him from floundering for the right word, "Don't mention it, guy."

Another smile was all Atomix could give in response, just before his blank, blazing white eyes spotted the coastline approaching fast.

"Showtime! Any last words of advice?"

"You already know it all, hero."

Three figures milled about on the otherwise abandoned dock. Finding a spot of empty concrete below him, Atomix floated down, his blue flames pushing off of the ground to offer a safe descent.

Black boots smacking against the ground, he let the flames go out, and without the cloak of a nuclear conflagration, Alexander almost resembled a normal kid, his light brown skin, bulky frame and strong features protruding from under his hood and costume, only those blank eyes remained unnatural.

Vixen was not among the trio he'd seen near the water. One of the three was sizing him up as they walked towards their new guest, but the other two seemed far more preoccupied.

"Ha! Were you expecting the man in red undies, girly?!" a brash abrasive voice called out, antagonism oozing from his words. He wore a costume as well, but, it was none that Atomix recognized. Wearing white boots, a torn skirt around his pants, a vest and shoulder pads, with a belt buckle reading, "K" then "D." Unmasked to show freckles, gray eyes, and a thin goatee, he was a touch taller than Atomix, a bit narrower too.

The girl he was speaking with wasn't nearly as dressed up. A plain denim jacket was worn over a gray shirt sporting a white star, dark pants and purple high tops. The shortest of the four on the docks, light brown hair spilled out atop angular features and green eyes piercing through the evening. "I was expecting what I was promised," she responded, "Red Hood, Vixen and them holding up their end of a deal."

"Raw deal!" the first boy shouted, oblivious to any concept of stealth. "Just another disappointment blowing through!"

"Keep it down, Knuckle Dust, we're obviously supposed to be keeping a low profile," the third figure observed, "why else would we meet here?"

"It's Duster, Buster! And, don't tell me what I should be doin'!"

"Keep your screeching to a minimum at least," the girl pleaded. Clearly she'd been enduring the boy for a while before Atomix's arrival.

"Buster," as he was introduced, approached Atomix first, "The name's El- or, X, rather," Atomix met the boy's handshake. X towered over the other three, almost six and a half feet tall and a mess of lean, lanky, limbs. Combat boots, a black and blue kevlar shirt under a leather jacket and a spandex mask sporting a blue "X" design composed the guy's costume.

"X? Kind of on the nose, don't you think?" Atomix asked.

"Introductions," Jason chastised inside his head.

"Ah, but, I'm Atomix, nice to meet you."

X, the tall boy, let the joke slide with a polite laugh, "I bought the mask before the name came around, for the record. I can't say the same for everybody's fashion choices," he cast a quick glance towards the belt buckle sporting "K" and "D," and Knuckle Duster caught on to the joke, finding some red filling his cheeks with embarrassment.

"It was a gift! Jackasses! Stupid- where the hell is Vixen?!"

The girl abstained from an introduction, addressing their newcomer, "Why are you here?"

"Come on, that's pretty clear isn't it?" X hopped to defend him.

"Suspicious girl," Jason commented.

She ignored X's scolding and stood silent, arms crossed expectantly.

"Same reason as all of you, I suppose," Atomix answered, trying to understand the girl's aggression.

"Who told you about this?" she changed gears, but, pressed on with a step towards the boy.

X stepped between them to defuse the situation, "Not sure there's any need for those questions, right? We're all on the same team, no?"

"I've never met any of you before," she pushed past X's raised arm, "and I didn't get the guest list. If you're really that relaxed, I'm surprised you've lasted this long."

"Ha!" Knuckle interjected, "I changed my mind! I like the girl!"

"What's _your_ name? Who invited _you_ here?" Atomix pressed back. Tinges and licks of blue fire fanned to life on the boy's skin.

"Guys, this isn't gonna make for very a good first impression," X pleaded, but he didn't step between the two.

"I say let 'em duke it out!" Knuckle argued from the sidelines, sporting a toothy grin.

"The opposite of helping," X retorted.

"Listen to the mask, simmer down, big guy," Jason advised.

"That's what the old me might have done," Atomix responded out loud.

The girl shook her head at the comment, stepping away from the conflict she mentioned to no one in particular, "I haven't seen a thing worth sticking around for."

A blue and yellow motorcycle rolled up, as if on cue to keep the girl's attention. Shining bright, with faded paint and a sidecar. A small creature seemed to leap out of the sidecar, melding with the bike's driver, who lifted her leg over the seat and onto the ground. After fiddling with her sleeve for a moment, she turned away from the bike, and even without a rider, the bike turned away as well, pulling out and driving off into the night.

Walking towards the quartet that was previously in such heated debate was another young girl, Knuckle was audibly disappointed to see it wasn't the woman that had invited him. Like him, she didn't wear a mask, and her features were plain to see. A dyed purple pixie cut sat under a brown sloop style hat, sporting the symbol of the Gotham bat on one side. Splattered across her nose and cheeks were more freckles than the boy as well, with dark almond eyes to contrast her pale skin.

Looking at the outfits of the others present, the newcomer tried her hand to nervously break the ice, "Seems like I'm a bit underdressed." And it was sort of true, her costume besides the hat consisted of a purple bandanna and a violet kevlar shirt to match her hair color, covered by a sleeveless brown leather jacket. Paired a leather belt sporting vaguely shaped tools and two pistol holsters, only one of which was actually equipped with a pistol, the other empty. Completed with a pair of desert fatigues and black boots, it wasn't quite as flashy as Atomix or X's attire.

"Lucky for you nobody's around to enforce the dress code just yet," joked X, trying to bring levity to what was so recently a heated argument.

Kid Star wasn't eager to jump on the bandwagon. "What's your name supposed to be?"

"Weasel," she nervously replied, "I'm glad to see this wasn't any sort of ambush me and leave me for dead situation."

"The night's still young," Kid Star offered optimistically, returning her gaze to the streets.

"I'm X, she's Kid Star," the tall boy offered, and the other two followed suit with their aliases, leading to what was probably the first moment of silence since superheroes had arrived at the scene.

As if just to break it up, a small red circle sprouted up from the ground, crimson and sparkling, but only the size of a quarter. It caught the attention of the five kids at odds, urging Atomix and X to back away from the mysterious circle as it expanded further and further. Slowly, it spread across the concrete of the docks, wider and wider until it was the size of a bedroom, glowing, simmering and bursting with sickly crimson energy.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen!" The red energy popped all of a sudden, dissipating into ribbons of crimson until completely disappeared. Standing in its place was something hardly human. "Is an entrance!"

Sickly, pale white, it was tall, possessing a humanoid frame. It bore pointed ears, short, jagged, black horns and blazing amber eyes. The most normal thing about it were its clothes, a fur-lined leather jacket, dark pants, a chain from its brown belt to pocket and black shoes. Ironically, it was probably the most normal outfit of the five despite being the strangest among them.

"C'mon, it's not everyday that mortals get to see an express gate from the underworld," he endeared.

"Sick joke," Knuckle Duster said, "you're supposed to be a demon?"

"Dilias Sangriente the Hellborn, for short," he introduced himself with a half-assed bow.

"For short?" Jason asked, earning just a shake of the head from Atomix.

Kid Star eyed the thing up and down, braving to closer than the three boys. "We're supposed to believe you came from Hell?"

"The name would be a dead giveaway, no?" he said, "But, I just came from Washington, D.C. that's where all demons work," the joked earned a chuckle from Weasel, who tried to pass it off as clearing her throat, doing her best to blend in with the rest of the squad.

"When are the actual heroes supposed to show up?" Knuckle complained loudly, as seemed to be the norm for him.

"Now that the best for last has shown up, your heroes should be here any second," Dilias confidently replied, looking towards the waterfront, while the others kept their eyes trained on the streets and cityscape at their back.

X furrowed his brow underneath the mask, counting every kid with a finger on his hand, "We're still waiting on number seven, Hellboy."

"Seven?" Weasel asked.

"Hellborn. It's Dilias Sangriente the Hellborn."

"You got the roster and we didn't?" Kid Star asked X apprehensively, her glowing silver eyes leaving the streets to peer at the guy's mask.

"I was told I'd be meeting six other up and comers, and the Trinity in charge."

"My invitation said, I'd be getting only five new friends," Dilias remarked, turning away from the rhythmic tide, "I specifically waited so no one would miss my grand entrance."

"Oh, I might've been a last minute addition," X admitted, not wanting to meet the gaze of an upset demon. Or an upset demon-looking metahuman, or whatever stood seven feet behind him. This night was spiraling away from his expectations.

"Either way, it looks like we've caught some attention," Jason was the one to point out the black town car pulling up towards them, through the dark and the tinted windows, nothing inside the vehicle could be made out. But, Atomix echoed the observation to the rest of them.

"They probably came to investigate what's been making so much noise," Kid Star said, aiming the verbal jab at Knuckle.

"They probably came to investigate the blue firefly over there, the curious case of the spectral motorcycle or our friendly neighborhood Hellspawn!" Knuckle shoved the suspicion off, not backing down in volume.

"Firefly, excuse me?"

"It's self driving!"

"Hell _born_ , squirt."

"I am a walking, talking nuke, you had better watch your tone," Atomix warned. And, surprisingly, it got Knuckle to simmer just a bit.

A middle-aged driver popped out of the front seat, walking serenely to the rear door. Apparently not a single one of the six kids made for even the slightest hint of a distraction for him, as if it was a fairly regular club for him or his passenger to visit.

Out of that rear door walked the most normal among them, or at least the most familiar. A teenage girl, eyes on her smartphone, blindly walking away from the car while frantically typing out a message.

She walked towards the group, completely bewildered at this impossibly casual approach, reaching them, she chose to first address her driver, as opposed to the six costumes before her, "You're good, Jeeves, no need to wait up tonight," which earned a polite nod, two doors slammed shut and the town car pulling away from the docks.

Kid Star was about to address what everyone else what seemed to still be processing through everyone else's mind, but was cut off by this new girl whirling herself around, angling her phone with an outstretched arm and snapping a picture with a bright flash.

"Did you just take a selfie of us?" Kid Star asked, enraged now beyond the care for stealth, "This is supposed to be covert, who the hell are you?"

"Is your butler actually named Jeeves? Because, if so, that's actually the coolest thing I've heard all night," X remarked, smiling wide under the mask.

"There are easier ways to get pictures of superheroes, perv," Weasel accused, "could I at least have pulled my bandana over my face or something?"

"Hey wait, wait, you gotta retake that, I didn't have any flames goin' and that wasn't my good side, it's not gonna turn out well," Atomix complained, striking a pose for a second chance.

"I'm praying you're not number seven, darlin'," Knuckle complained, "what a let down this roster is."

"Holy lord of darkness below," Dilias said, finally connecting the puzzle pieces. "Don't you guys know who this is?" he asked the other five, earning mostly blank stares of anticipation.

"Oh, Ms. Smalls," he approached, reaching out a bony, pale, devilish hand, "I'm a big fan, truly."

"You know her?" Knuckle Duster asked.

"So do you," Dilias said. "This girl right here, is _the_ Yasmine Smalls, also known as Karisma. Former actress, current musician, prominent social media personality, and vigilante! She became a superhero just so she'd get more Twitter followers. Honestly," he paused to catch his breath, "the vanity, the greed, the pride, I adore it, darling."

A sound effect like gust of wind rang out from her smartphone before she pocketed the device into some cut off red denim shorts. "Good," she finally spoke, with a high voice and a laid-back tone, "because I despise having to introduce myself."

She was the only one who seemed to be without a costume, pairing her shorts with a pale pink t-shirt under a black corset wrapped up in a pink faux fur coat. Yasmine had a conventionally attractive face which she took no efforts to mask, with round, dark green eyes, plump lips and a thin layer of makeup, her long black hair was covered under a violet beanie. Her body was muscular and athletic however, with a dark olive skin tone, and a mostly bored expression.

"Yes," she began answering the questions one by one, "I just posted the team pic to Insta, sorry, not sorry. I pay my driver enough to call him whatever I like. I don't do reshoots. And I'm not number seven, shorty," she approached Knuckle, just a hair taller than the boy, "I'm number one."

"She is a work of art," Dilias quietly noted to Atomix, who could only nod in agreement, much to the internal scolding of Jason.

"I don't much like my location being broadcasted to your thousands of followers," Kid Star said, trying to break up the staring contest between Yasmine and Knuckle.

"Millions. And, I accepted Vixen's invitation for the publicity," Yasmine said, then tried to loosen up a bit, thinking of the advice her dads gave her in the back of her head. "Sorry, but, it's gonna be a part of this gig."

"This 'gig' is falling apart at the seams," Kid Star replied, still looking at the streets past the docks for another car to show up.

Weasel stepped between the two, "C'mon it's not that big a deal, right? Who really uses social media anyways?"

"Everyone," Yasmine replied curtly, cutting off the attempt at diplomacy.

"You got invited by Vixen?" Dilias asked, "I would've thought you were more like me," he said, genuinely confused.

"And what's that supposed to mean, honey?"

"That you got invited by Black Manta," Dilias casually explained.

"What?!" Atomix asked, "Supervillain, Black Manta?"

"Makes sense. You thought a Hellborn would be called to action by a superhero?"

"I knew this thing smelled rotten," Kid Star said, "I got called here by the Red Hood."

"Hey! Twinsies!" X gestured between the two of them.

"Oh yeah, mask, this would be hilarious if it wasn't so life threatening," Knuckle remarked.

"Who really cares who invited who, right?" Weasel pleaded.

Before any more arguing could continue, two large black oblong ships broke free from the ocean water. Even in the dark of the night they could be recognized as Black Manta's infamous vehicles of terror.

"And, I'm out of here," Kid Star said, lifting herself off the ground to begin a flight path far, far away from the Gotham docks.

"Relax, Star," a voice called from outside of the seven kids, catching their attention and halting her ascension. A red helmet came into view from the shadows, "He's on our side."

Nestling themselves against the long wooden docks were the two large vehicles, only portions of their metal hulls peeking out over the water. From the two submarines came a duet of hissing gas and loud mechanics at work, preluding the opening of a pair of hatches to the submarines. Climbing out of a ladder and into the night air was the supervillain under contention, Black Manta, the red eyes of his helmet piercing through the night. Trailing behind by only a few moments was Vixen from the other vehicle, whose unmasked face peered out from the black metal machine.

"A hostage situation?" Atomix asked, breaking the silence that followed their appearances.

"No," Red Hood answered, approaching the seven teenagers. "Vixen, Manta and myself are on the same page here, we've teamed up and we're hoping you'll all join us."

"You've teamed up with a villain?" Knuckle Duster called out, addressing Vixen inside of the submarine. She agreed with the criticism, even now second-guessing their plans, but, she managed to stay silent.

Red Hood tried to take control of the situation again. "You were all invited here under a pretense that was only partly true. Until we know you're on board, we can't give you the full reasoning."

"We agree to join you and _then_ you tell us why we should join you?" Dilias asked, "Sounds pretty backasswards to me."

"Incorrect, Mr. Sangriente," said a cold, modified voice coming from Black Manta. The man leapt out of the sub, walking towards Hood and the kids. "You must agree to join us, and prove you're worthy of joining us, before you're told anything more."

Vixen leapt out of her own sub, exquisitely landing her jump onto the docks, and walking calmly, trying to keep a brave face while joining ranks with the criminals.

"You invited us," Kid Star asked, "we still need to prove ourselves?"

"Not all of us are convinced of your abilities," Black Manta promptly replied.

"I've already posted our group shot," Karisma answered, "plus this gets more tantalizing by the minute. What do we gotta do for you?"

"I'm in, too," X agreed. "I've been out on these docks forever and am praying those things have central heating."

"They do not," Manta answered, as serious as anything else.

"You'd jump on board that easily?" Kid Star asked, "You leap onto a supervillain's ship with no questions asked?"

"We all agreed to come, didn't we? No need to turn back now," Weasel calmly argued, not seeming to be shaken by this news.

Atomix turned his eyes towards the sky, trying to silently consult Jason for any advice he could give.

"It's precisely because I have questions that I wanna get on," answered X, "more exciting than hauling my rear end back home."

"I suppose it'd be pretty disappointing to have made this trip for nothing," Knuckle admitted.

Jason finally piped up, catching onto Atomix's call for help, "It's still your chance to prove your strength, one way or another, buddy."

With that, Atomix didn't need any more prompting, but was cut off by Dilias.

"Hey hostage situation or not, I've always wanted to see how a guy like Manta rides in style."

Atomix again tried to interject his own answer as well, but this time it was Red Hood to cut him off. "Kid Star, you remember what I told you, right? I wouldn't be leading you astray. If you trusted me enough to show up, you should trust yourself to follow through."

The girl was previously caught up in her thoughts, but nodded at the advice, "I'll go. I want answers."

"Me too!" Atomix rushed to answer before another one of the six could give their answer, but realized at that moment he was already last to reply.

"If you want answers," Red Hood replied, "you'll have to take them for yourself. Manta?"

The tall man nodded his helmet, stepping back and gesturing at one of the submarines. "That there is the Manta-Sub. In its cockpit is an autopilot recall system that will lead the Manta Flyer directly towards the Sub's position," he gestured towards the submarine that had been holding Vixen when referring to the Flyer.

"If you can bring the two vehicles together by the time the Sun rises on this spot, we'll give you all the answers you could want."

"No chance it's that easy," Knuckle Duster answered, doing very little to hide the contempt in his voice.

"My men are currently on board the Manta-Sub," he ignored the interruption, "they've got orders to kill all intruders, as does every security measure on board. Fail, and you'll be fished out of Gotham Harbor a corpse."

"High stakes for an entrance exam," X noted, rubbing the back of his neck with a tinge of nervousness, thinking about his family back home.

"I hate to say it," Red Hood took over, "But, if you can't at least do that, you won't have much of a chance doing what we have in store for you."

"Now if you don't hurry, your ride will leave you behind," Black Manta remarked, pressing a button with a sharp tone on the forearm of his suit. Almost imperceptibly, the submarine began sinking underneath the water's surface.

"All aboard."

Some of the seven shared a hasty glance, but Kid Star broke their frozen stances, flying away from the group and towards the open hatch Atomix took to the air just behind her as well. Weasel, X and Karisma followed suit, with Dilias casually beginning a sort of incantation on the ground around him. Knuckle Duster stayed still, looking towards Vixen, who'd been silent throughout the evening.

"You told me," Knuckle said, "that this team was put together to help people, to save lives. Is that still true?"

Vixen cast a quick glance at the two masked figures by her, but nodded at the question, "It is."

Knuckle responded with a nod, and sprinted towards the sinking ship, catching up to the other three, while Dilias disappeared in a flash of fire behind him.

Once all seven kids were gone, Vixen seemed to loosen up, finally feeling as if she could speak again. "Manta, you didn't actually tell your guards to kill them, right?"

"You were the one who wanted to test them," he replied, walking towards Manta-Sub A, "That was the least that was necessary. I only hope they don't break my ship."

* * *

 _May 29th, 2020. Atlantic Ocean. 23:59 EST_

Knuckle Duster slammed shut the hatch above him, dropping down the chute to join the four others that had climbed inside.

"Where's Dilias?" Kid Star asked.

In a flash of dark flame and magic, just as had happened earlier in the night, a pale white demonic being appeared with them, flamboyantly blinking into existence alongside the rest of the group.

With his appearance, red lights began silently flashing across the wide, black metal hallway, flickering on and off.

"Man, you tripped the smoke alarm," Atomix joked.

"You're one to talk," X said, gesturing to the guy's blazing blue appearance.

"Pretty sure that's the intruder alarm," Kid Star observed, gesturing to a pair of armor clad soldiers now leveling their futuristic rifles at the seven invaders.

"Oh no!" X shouted, "Faceless, armed guards! The jig is up, gang!"

"Fire at will!" One guard ordered, and just before the two muzzles came alive with gunfire, Knuckle Duster leapt in front of the group, spreading out his limbs and body to act as a wall between the guards and their targets. His skin seemed to discolor, changing texture and leading the bullets to bounce harmlessly off of him into the walls or towards the floor.

"Has he ever stopped a rifle of that caliber before?" Red Hood asked. He and the rest of the Trinity were underwater in the Manta Flyer, watching an array of security screens that gave them a live feed of the action on the Sub.

Vixen thumbed through a physical file, confirming what she thought, "No, I don't believe so," she continued her profile, reading through what she had down on him, "Anthony Romero, a.k.a. Knuckle Duster, the seventeen year-old vigilante from Queens. Metahuman ability to harden his body at will," she slammed the file closed. "But, he's only ever had to deal with pocket knives and handguns before, not live assault rifle ammunition," she levied a glare towards Manta.

"He can handle it," Manta said calmly, "after all, it's my team, isn't it?"

Back on the Sub, Weasel was first to break into action, from her sleeveless leather jacket popped out a small creature, scurrying swiftly towards the manta troopers.

Not far behind Weasel's creature was X. He ducked his lanky body underneath the boy's outstretched arm and sprinted at shocking speed towards the Manta Troopers. Their barrels redirected towards him, and as soon as it happened, he coiled his body against the wall next to him, his body standing almost horizontal, staring intently at the two trigger fingers.

They were about to squeeze down. He launched off the wall towards the other, in an acrobatic feat, his other leg landed on the opposite wall, and he rebounded to the ceiling leading the Troopers' guns on a wild goose chase all while X had more than halved the distance between them. But, stuck in mid-air, they settled on their target just as the boy whipped his arm across his body, and the troopers felt the small knives dig into their hands.

Jumping from the floor was the creature, that landed on the underside of one of the assault rifles. It extended from one gun to the other, and sprung back together, coiling the two weapons together and pulling them from the soldiers' grips.

Landing safely just two meters in front of the gun barrels, they tried to recover from the shock of X's attack and their disarming, but, it was far too late. X had completely closed the distance of thirty yards between Knuckle and the Troopers, already inside the range of the gunmen. He slammed an elbow into one's helmet to kick off a combination that had sent many assailants to the ground.

"Ellis. Chicago gang boss known as X," Vixen was reading from another manila folder. "I'm still against bringing in a person with no powers, especially known criminals."

"Ellis is an old friend," Red Hood replied, "you'll remember Manta and I don't have any powers or special tools."

"You two are grown adults capable of making your own stupid decisions," Vixen argued, "he can't be older than fifteen."

"He just sent two of my trained men to the ground. Say what you will, that's no easy feat. Even if he was the only member I didn't choose, Mr…." Manta paused for a moment, "What was his family name again?"

"Ellis doesn't have one," Red Hood replied plainly.

X ended his string of strikes with a straight kick to the second guard, pinning him against the wall, and letting him slide to the floor.

Atomix hear a familiar voice in his head, "Don't get left out Ajax, show 'em what you can do," Jason said.

"Don't worry," Atomix replied, "We're not getting left behind!" Blue flames surged at the declaration, and the hero launched towards X, rounding a corner blind to take point.

"Who's he talking to?" Red Hood asked, looking to Manta and Vixen for an answer, but the latter came up short looking into his file.

"Mr. Atlas is a part of the Firestorm Matrix," Manta explained, "he's speaking with his partner in the Matrix, acting as a sort of voice in his head."

"But, I thought Atomix didn't have a partner in his fusion? One seventeen year old kid goes in, one superhero comes out, right?" Vixen asked, noting the information in the writing.

"My theory," Manta continued, "is that it's a leftover from a past fusion. Past minds fused with the Matrix may be communicating with him."

Vixen closed the file, "You don't think that's dangerous?"

"It very well could be."

"One more at our back if anybody wants to show off next," Dilias called out, watching X follow Atomix down the hallway he'd chosen, and the creature return to Weasel. Upon closer inspection, the others of the party could see it was actually some sort of robot, mechanical, metal, with glowing green eyes in the shape of a weasel, to nobody's surprise. It coiled around its hero's arm, extending its midsection like a coil.

"Demons have X-ray vision too?" Kid Star asked, but positioned herself at the tail of their party all the same.

Dilias grinned, running a long finger across his bottom lip, "His fear, darling, I can taste it."

An armored arm swung around a corner behind them, sliding an oblong black device across the ground towards the four of them. Before it could cover half of that distance, Kid Star's fingers let loose a silver pop of energy, colliding with the device and detonating an explosion that clouded the corridor for a moment.

Flying through the smoke left behind, her flying form shocked the guard. Before he could even raise his rifle she fired off another bolt of energy, the concussive force slamming the manta trooper against the wall behind him before he slumped to the floor. The way before her clear, she flew off on her own, leaving more than half the team behind.

"How long can she last under the water?" Vixen asked, perusing Kid Star's file for the answer to her question.

"Without sunlight to charge her?" Red Hood clarified, "From what I saw she could go for a while, really depends on how much she uses her powers."

"Sixteen year-old Sadie Duncan, Kid Star. A Gotham City metahuman," Vixen rattled off the notes like they were part of a trading card. "She should be in school."

"Seems she's more focused on her own survival," Black Manta simply said.

"No cell reception?" Karisma complained, pocketing her smartphone with a show of disgust. "Does anybody even know where this stupid cockpit is?"

"Not a clue," Dilias stated, "looks like our new superfriends don't have much idea either."

"Well they couldn't have done much on their own," Karisma said, walking casually down the hallway in the direction the first two guards had come from. "I'm gonna end up carrying this team, aren't I?"

"No need to say something like that," Weasel scolded.

The screech of metal grinding into metal rang out, catching the attention of Karisma, Weasel and Knuckle, who saw Dilias, now sporting a scythe that had seemingly come out of nowhere. Sporting three curved blades that grew longer as they came closer to end of the weapon's staff and a sturdy looking cord tethering the weapon to his hip, it looked equal parts unnatural and dangerous.

"Heroes don't get much done around here, darling," Dilias said, wrenching the scythe from the metal floor and resting it on his shoulder. "Some jobs need a villain's touch, you coming along?"

Karisma smirked confidently, "Sounds more like a challenge than an invitation. Say what you want, but, I'm a superhero. And this hero's sure to kick more ass than you."

"That _is_ what a challenge sounds like," Dilias answered, "First one to the cockpit? What do you wanna put on the line? Your immortal soul?"

"Bragging rights."

"I'd have preferred the soul. But, it's hard to resist a chance at boasting. You've got yourself a deal."

Karisma felt strange all of a sudden, looking down at her left hand, she saw a strange mark she didn't recognize come into existence on her skin.

Dilias laughed heartily, "And careful, darling. Deals with devils are absolutely final. No backsies."

With that, the demon ran off, and Karisma did the same, leaving Knuckle Duster and Weasel standing still between them. Standing between the two personalities, even Anthony felt paralyzed, like he had no place in the conversation. Shaking off the feeling, he cast only a last glance at Weasel to see what she'd do, but getting no reaction, he ran along, following Dilias at a distance, while Karisma jogged in the opposite direction.

"Yasmine Smalls, also known as Karisma. Pop star. Sixteen years old, and-"

"It's not working," Black Manta said, cutting Vixen off this time. "Rattling off their age does not deter me from my conviction. This mission requires very specific points to work, I've no problem putting these people on the line for the sake of getting my son back."

"We all want something out of this mission," Vixen fired back. "It was you two that wanted to put kids on the line!"

"Perhaps you're on the wrong ship, Ms. McCabe," Manta replied, keeping his demeanor calm, "do we need to test your mettle on the Sub as well?"

"Relax!" Red Hood interjected, "Both of you need to simmer. Vixen, we didn't force anybody to show up tonight. They'll only do what they agree to do. Manta may have selected most of this team, but they can do what we'll be asking them to do. And, Manta, we'll get Aqualad back from the Light. But, it won't be at the reckless risk of anyone else.

"We do this intelligently, we do this rationally, and at the end of the day, everyone will be safe."

He let his words hang in the air, pulling them all back to reality.

Vixen caught her breath and tried to extend an olive branch. "Dilias Sangriente. Is he really a demon?"

"I was skeptical, when I first heard of him," Black Manta replied, accepting what he saw as a verbal armistice. "But, now, there's no doubt in my mind, that he's the real thing."

"And sixteen-year old Nicole Wesley," she continued to emphasize the age, "your other supervillain, did she turn out to be a meta?"

"No," Manta curtly responded, ignoring her determination to instill guilt in the father. "The robot and the bike are just her tools, and, she's not a supervillain either. I should know, one's family doesn't define them."

Atomix rounded yet another corner in mid-air. Frustratingly, all he could find were more black corridors. Everything looked the exact same, and he couldn't make heads or tails of any it after all the thoughtless turns he'd made. All he could tell from the mental map he was constructing was that he hadn't been retreading any ground he'd already covered. Banking right, he finally found what he was looking for.

A small alcove jutting out from the normal black metal walls, saw a panel of controls, two seats and one Trooper to the left managing a number of buttons and controls in front of him. He'd found the cockpit in no time at all.

Darting forward, he blistered across the hallway. Within just a couple seconds, he was standing next to an aloof manta trooper, who could only look up at the boy the on fire, sporting a wide smile. Atomix tossed the Trooper outside of the cockpit, and his armor landed on the ground with a clanking rattle of thuds.

Ajax Atlas was an intelligent guy, but he'd never been asked to fly a mysterious submarine, and as such, the controls might as well have all been nonsense to him. Realizing his mistake in tossing away his only source of information, the hero turned around to see the trooper on his feet, waving a goodbye to Atomix.

Pressing a button besides the entrance to the cockpit, two sets of heavy metal doors slid shut. Very quickly, Ajax realized he hadn't found the cockpit. And when he saw the controls light up like a Christmas tree, his suspicions were confirmed. The alcove ejected itself from the ship, swimming through the water. Ajax was standing in an escape pod, not a cockpit. Beeping began to ring out under the seats next to him, and upon inspection, the situation became far worse, as the boy found a quartet of oblong explosives planted on the vehicle.

Preluding the explosion, Atomix could simply say, "Perfect."

Manta Trooper B-652 was over the moon. Black Manta had promised that killing even one of these heroes meant a bonus greater than any score they'd ever pulled. With that much cash he could even retire. He could buy a huge piece of land somewhere landlocked, somewhere he'd never have to put on stuffy black armor ever again. Maybe he could reunite with that girl back from college. Take up that job his brother kept talking about. Could he even raise a few kids of his own?

Every fantasy came undone when he heard a low humming behind him. Just behind the two metal doors seemed to be coming a buzz, as if there was some electric buzzsaw on the other side. But, that was impossible. Right?

A portion of the metal door seemed to vibrate, rupture and ripple, as if it was liquid. All of a sudden, the metal popped, turning into a thin paper that was broken open to reveal a sopping wet teenager outlined by cerulean flames. Turning back to the leak, the guy's hands moved to the door, resealing the metal wall with material, while the floor beneath his feet became thin and warped.

The water pouring in stopped, and Atomix turned to face Manta Trooper B-652, marching towards him with an agitated determination. "Energy absorption," one finger on Atomix's hand flicked up counting, "auto sustenance," he lifted a second finger, now only feet from B-652, who was trying to slowly back away, "and matter transmutation," he lifted a third finger, "didn't know about those powers, huh?"

Trooper B-652 frantically shook his head back and forth.

"Didn't think so," Atomix swung a blazing blue fist at the man's jaw, sending him to the metal floor with dreams of a house in the heartland and a redhead holding his hand.

* * *

Karisma looked up from her phone, still frustrated at the lack of reception now that they were so far under water. A manta trooper crossed her path, pulling a double-take when he took notice of the girl. He instinctively caught her in his sights, but soon found himself paralyzed. Across his face bloomed a pink mask across the trooper's face, covering the faceplate of his helmet.

Testing the control, Karisma, raised her left hand, and like looking in a mirror, the trooper raised his own, lifting the rifle towards the ceiling.

"Easy pickings," she said, almost complaining.

"Trooper, what's going on over there?"

"We're coming to you, say something!"

Two voices called from past the hallway this trooper had appeared from, and soon enough, their boots could be heard making their way to support their fellow soldier.

Karisma could feel him about to say something, and she reinforced her control of her closed jaw, keeping him silent. Spotting a familiar oblong explosive on his belt, she reached her own hand down to where the machine may be on her own body, in turn forcing him to do the same. Within a moment, the bomb was activated, beginning its countdown to detonation.

Letting go of control of his mouth, she said, "That won't kill you, right? That's what the armor is there for, no?"

Feeling control of his own throat returned to him, the trooper tried to voice a warning, only getting out, "Wait-" before a sizeable explosion threw him through the corridor and felled two other suits of armor.

Karisma surveyed her handiwork, noticing the mask that still surrounded her first trooper. "Three down for Karisma," she said. Staring at the two other guards, she found them to only be unconscious as well, much to her delight.

"And, three up for Karisma," on cue, the trio of guards all stood up, rifles in hand, pink masks covering their helmets. Surrounded by the team of troopers, she walked on, checking her phone again to see if there was any change in reception.

* * *

Dilias lazily swung his scythe back and forth in front of his path, every few times he'd scratch the metal floor, igniting sparks with a hideous sound he hoped would attract some troopers his way. Hearing some footsteps behind him, he lifted the scythe, blindly hurling it at the wall behind him, lodging it deep into the ship's hull.

Just out of its trajectory was Anthony, his body entirely hardened, but staring at the tether between Dilias and the scythe.

"Thought you were fresh meat," Dilias said, "wouldn't think you'd be the one to volunteer to be my sidekick."

Knuckle Duster recovered from the shock, swallowing and losing the hardened state. "Just thought I'd keep an eye on our resident villain in training."

The demon whipped his hand back, taking the cable with him and freeing the weapon from the wall. Before it could even fall to the floor, he pulled back again catching the handle of the scythe with a practiced hand. "No training about it, Buster. I'm not here for ethics or such, and I sure as heaven don't need a Professor Manta to teach me how to reap a few souls."

"Duster. Knuckle Duster, Hellspawn," he replied, putting all his effort into his back and voice, making sure neither wavered. "You were the only one of us invited here by Black Manta. Ignoring the fact he's one of our guys in charge, if you're anything like him, then you're not to be trusted."

"A smart predator doesn't let his prey know he's watching."

"I'm not a predator," Knuckle corrected, "I'm a hero."

"And, I'm sure you get a little hard-on whenever you hear yourself say that. But, that doesn't change-"

"Two of 'em!" a manta trooper shouted out and three other guards joined him, forming a quartet of two kneeling in a front row and two standing at the ready. Four rifles were pointed at the pair of teenagers.

Dilias grinned at their arrival, turning around and standing straight with his arms wide and eyes closed.

"What're you doing?" Knuckle asked.

"Open fire!"

Four rifles came alive with a chorus of continued firing. With no thinking, Knuckle leapt in front of Dilias as he did before, tanking the dozens of rounds with his armored body.

Cackling along with the gunfire, Dilias was ecstatic standing behind his human shield. Swinging his lanky arm around Knuckle, the Hellborn fired out his scythe, its three blades cleaving a standing trooper, and one less gun was rattling off rounds.

The demon felt the soul he'd earned, having killed the man, it traveled up through the cable towards Dilias, finding a host in its killer, producing another string of laughs.

"No!" Knuckle yelled.

"Oh, yes!" Dilias reeled back his Harvester scythe, but instead of finding its place in his hand, it was stopped before reaching the demon. Knuckle had caught the weapon by its blades, still enduring the gunfire of the three troopers.

"Give it back!"

"You killed him!"

"Call the cops!"

The gunfire they were screaming over ended, with the troopers reloading their respective rifles. Leaping at the opportunity, Knuckle broke from his defensive pose. Though the dozens of bullets had weakened his armor, he was, by no means, a softie throwing straight jab towards the demon's neck.

A swerve to the right and Dilias was out of the way, tugging his arm down to try for another retrieval of his scythe. But, it was to no avail, Knuckle held on tight, steadying his body and throwing out a hook with his other arm, this time connecting fist to rib cage.

"Unload!" a trooper shouted, and Knuckle Duster was forced to halt his follow-up attack, standing perfectly still over the hunched Dilias to protect him from the next volley of gunshots. The Hellborn caught his breath, clutching the side of his torso. More quickly than before, Knuckle felt his armor begin to dissipate, his back absorbing each round that collided with his body, draining more and more from the integrity of his ability.

He was forced to remove the armored skin from the front side of his body, re-allocating it all to his back side, just to make sure he'd survive this next wave of bullets. Even then, he could feel that redoubled armor softening with each repeated impact.

Standing straight again, the change in Knuckle's power didn't go unnoticed by Dilias, who grinned wide. Terrified as he was, Knuckle couldn't move an inch, wavering from his position might get Dilias torn apart by the three troops behind him.

He was absolutely helpless, watching the demon raise his own fists, abandoning the cord connected to the scythe. Dilias began by returning the punch to Knuckle's ribcage. Pain shot through the boy's body, but he held fast, keeping his body still.

Manic laughter burst forth from Dilias' wide open mouth, and he continued his onslaught. A straight jab to Knuckle's nose, a punch across his jaw, burying his fist in the boy's gut, hooking his fist around, into the kid's temple, a quartet of punches to Knuckle's chest followed suit. Dilias' punches were unrefined, but managed to hurt all the same, and it took everything in Knuckle's power to keep on his feet.

To conclude this combination, the three gunmen found themselves out of ammunition again. With the ending of their gunfire, Knuckle Duster fell to his knees, the armor completely disappearing from his body. Coughing up a surge of blood, even his vision seemed to be fading, only the staccato laughter of a pale demon ringing out like gunfire.

"Don't worry, teammate," Dilias said between fits of giggles. He bent over to lazily retrieve his Harvester scythe. "I got your back."

The words were fuzzy to Anthony, who could only make out his pant leg moving past his own crumpled body. Reaching out to grab onto it, Knuckle made a final effort to halt the demon's murderous progress. The butt end of Harvester met the hero's temple, and it was the last thing he remembered.

* * *

Nicole Wesley stood under the discrete security camera, her eyes trained on the small device's wiry innards. The tool was blended into the corner of one of the Sub's hallways, and if it wasn't for the girl's partner she might not have noticed it at all. That very partner jutted its head out from the camera, bringing along just the cord he'd been asked to find. Dropping down to Weasel's shoulder, she took hold of the cord, plugging it into the terminal over her right forearm.

"Thanks for the help, Junior," she said earnestly, referring to the now absent-looking drone. The cord connected to her personal computer, she began furiously clicking away at keys and windows, sniffing around for the vulnerabilities in the ship's security system.

Head down in the corner of two hallways, she did her best to ignore her vulnerable position and focus on the task at hand, but, it made difficult by four untimely arrivals. Two troopers from the left corridor and a matching set from the right, she only noticed them by their heavy boots marching against the floor.

Without a word, they approached, leveling their rifles at the helpless girl attached to the ceiling.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, "could you guys please give me a minute or two? I'm trying to undermine your ship's security."

"Unplug yourself from the wall!" Though they'd stopped in their tracks, it didn't seem likely they were going to give her the grace period she'd requested.

"Ah well, you can come a little bit closer than that," she pleaded, eyeing the half circle devices she'd planted on their hallways, just a few feet in front of the two pairs.

"We'll give you to the count of two!"

"Mark!" Ignoring the threat, her keyword triggered the explosives across the hallways, detonating pockets of smoke, flame and kinetic energy that turned most of the soldiers to ragdolls. From her left, the set of troopers were now getting to their feet for retaliation.

"Junior, left!" The drone responded to the words and the point of her finger, scrambling off the girl and towards the indicated gunman. Removing her pistol from its holster, she fired a bolt of energy with a squeeze of the trigger, which dissipated across the soldier, stunning him for only a moment, and sending him back by a step or two.

The other had found his target, but a robotic weasel interrupted his shot. Hopping from the ground to rifle, it wound its body around the gun, extending the lower half to loop behind the trooper's neck. The move had formed a neat oval, with one side of the robot's flexible body stretched around the barrel of the assault rifle, and the other around its owner's neck. Squeezing tight, the oval constricted in a flash, sending the gun on a collision course with the trooper's helmet, cracking the faceplate, and putting him on the floor.

Trooper on the right had recovered from Weasel's energy pistol. But, it was just enough time for her to plug the gun into a spot on her utility belt, and when she fired again, the gun's energy merely powered a grappling hook that dug into her opponent's weapon. With a flick of a switch, the gun was swiped away by the machine's whirring and spinning, yanking away the rifle.

"Junior!" she called, pointing her finger at her feet, and the weasel let go of its imprisoned trooper, sprinting back to the vigilante. The soldier wasn't far behind following along in the footrace to the girl.

"Equip!" Once Junior had come close enough, the command was given, Weasel's drone leaping from the floor to her wrist, coiling neatly around her free arm. Before it had even settled along her arm, Weasel lashed out her arm, and Junior's flexible body took care of the rest, acting like a steel whip, catching onto the man's ankle and tearing it out from under him.

Sliding across the ground with his legs taken out, the manta trooper didn't have enough time to react to the next strike of the Junior whip. Its steel face rebounded against the trooper's helmet. A few more repeated attacks from the makeshift whip and he was out cold, lying still at Weasel's feet.

Junior uncoiled off of Weasel's wrist, perching defensively on the girl's shoulder as she returned to her work on the security feed. It only took a minute or so without distractions, and finally, "I'm in!" she exclaimed, excitedly perusing the new suite of commands she'd gained access to with her brute force coding. "I've always wanted to say that in one of these high stakes situations, you know?" she confided in Junior.

Cycling through the files present, she found a detailed map of the submarine, completely the position of the cockpit. "And the winner is Weasel," after a moment of further exploring through the files, "and Junior of course," to which the drone responded with a short animalistic chirp.

Taking stock of the positions of every other member of the group, she rested on a single feed. It unmistakably portrayed the motionless figure of Knuckle Duster, crumpled up by four manta corpses, bloody and sliced. By the downed hero was X, who had squatted down to sling the other body over his shoulders, standing again to walk him out of the bloody scene.

"The cockpit will have to wait," Weasel knew there'd be no worth for her in victory if some of the team went down around her. Entering commands into her terminal, a sliding door snapped open up the hallway from X, trying to give them a place of refuge. Noting their position relative to her's, she unplugged from the camera, setting off with her drone in tow, "Up to us to save the day, Junior!"

* * *

Sadie Duncan flew low to the ground, turning another corner along the Manta-Sub's sprawling pathways. In an effort to conserve her power, she'd been avoiding as many confrontations as possible. With no luck in discovering a cockpit, she was desperate for even a clue as to its location. Banking blindly to the right, she ran smack into a trooper, rebounding off the armor. Avoiding fights was no longer an option.

With an extension of her arm, a burst of silver light came forth, revealing three more figures as he hurtled back.

Ready to fire off another blast of her starlight, her concentration was interrupted, "Rude!"

Pausing in mid-air, she took closer stock of the figures, seeing Karisma flanked by two manta troopers with strange pink masks. "You just wiped one of my bodyguards," the girl complained.

The situation defused, she let herself land to the floor, wiping a thin layer of sweat that had begun to form on her brow. "Bodyguards? How much do manta troopers cost these days?"

"These bad boys were free of charge," she explained with a smile. Her finger moved to point to one guard's mask, "my power just reels 'em in." As her hand moved to the faceplate, both troopers mimicked her motions, lifting their arms in perfect synchronization with Yasmine.

"Then I don't owe you anything for the one I wiped," Kid Star observed.

"I'll have you pay me back later."

"Any luck on the cockpit?"

Yasmine rolled her eyes, "We're still looking for that? Everything on this ship looks the same, I'd be so down to go through an actual villain hideout, but this is just a let down."

"This _is_ an actual villain hideout."

"I guess," Yasmine admitted, crossing her arms. She noted the girl's labored breathing, then quickly darted her eyes away. "If it gets this thing done any quicker, would you wanna move with my crew? We recently lost a member, we're seeking a replacement."

Kid Star did not, in the least, trust Yasmine Smalls with her life. Or, rather, she felt like she absolutely shouldn't. But, the girl just seemed so much more sincere than she expected a teen pop star to be. Maybe it was her tired mind talking, but having someone to watch her back didn't sound like the worst thing in the world.

"As long as you don't try that voodoo mask crap on me."

"I pinky promise."

Kid Star turned about face and moved to the right corridor, venturing down a hallway she knew she hadn't seen before.

Sadie tried to probe into the girl a bit more in an effort to better understand her, "Do you have any clues about the cockpit? Or have you been going in circles?"

"Technically they'd be rectangles," Yasmine corrected, "this ship doesn't have a lot of rounded edges to it. But-" Kid Star's arm stretched across her body, cutting off the girl's voice.

Looking at her, Yasmine saw a finger pressed against her lips. Apprehensive at being hushed, she was about to lay into her newly minted partner when she just made out some words.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Both girls heard it, and looked at the other to make sure the other had too. In nonverbal agreement, they quietly walked towards the source of the noise.

"It'll be fine, head's ringin' like a bell, but my power's back. That's what counts."

'Powers?' Kid Star thought to herself, finally settling on the door it seemed the voices were behind.

That first voice spoke again, "No need to push it out here," it said, muffled and muted.

Kid Star pressed her ear against the door, trying to find out if this was some kind of trick, or perhaps the very kids they jumped into a submarine with. Before she could hear another word, three loud knocks like gongs rang against her ear, as Karisma knocked brashly on the metal door.

"What're you doing?" Kid Star exclaimed.

"Hm?" Was all Karisma had time to get out before the door slid open and three vigilantes popped out, stopping in their tracks as the five recognized one another.

Weasel, X and Knuckle Duster were standing in fighting stances, Knuckle covered in a few sloppy bandages and Junior coiled around Weasel's arm. Kid Star had flew as high as the ceiling would allow her, her eyes glowing bright defensively, while Karisma moved her body so her puppet troopers would be aiming their guns at their targets.

"Fancy seeing you ladies here!" X said, dropping to a more relaxed stance, followed by Weasel.

"Not an ambush," Kid Star identified, her body relaxing back to the floor.

"What happened to you shorty?" Karisma asked Knuckle, who still seemed ready for battle.

"What's it to you?!" But, just as quickly as he rebuffed the question, he asked one of his own, "Any luck finding the damn steering wheel on this thing?"

"Actually," both Weasel and Karisma piped up at the same time, interrupting one another.

"You can go first, Weasel politely offered.

Karisma nodded as if that was obvious, "I came across a part of the ship crawling with troopers. I'm thinking it's gotta be near the cockpit at least."

"Was it near the center of the submarine?" Weasel asked, getting a slight nod from the other girl. "That's what my map seemed to read, but I've lost access to security feeds, they must have found what I did to one of their cameras," she said, sounding more frustrated with herself than the pesky troopers.

"I'm so excited for our team-up adventure!" X said, arms akimbo, genuinely happy at the prospect of not having to traverse the ship alone any longer.

"You still game for a fight?" Kid Star asked Knuckle Duster, more thoroughly inspecting the roughed up hero.

It felt like that very question had been asked about a hundred times in the past five minutes of him being conscious, but before Knuckle could delicately convey such emotions, Weasel intervened on his behalf.

"He's gonna be just fine. We're ready to go when you are."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading! Part two of the first Arc has officially released with the full roster of accepted characters! Below are the credited authors. If you're at all curious about my choices in character roster, feel free to let me know via PM, and I'll be willing to talk to you, though I hope you weren't offended or hurt by my choices. I appreciate each and every submission, and am sorry I couldn't accept more into the story. I'm absolutely hyped for this story, as you can probably tell by this chapter that is absolutely way too long! Don't expect every chapter to be this length, I just got way too excited and couldn't find anything I wanted to cut down on.

Anthony Romero. Knuckle Duster. - _JackHammerMan_

Dilias Sangriente. The Hellborn. - _FrozenHydra_

Ellis. X. - _WhenUniversesCollide_

Yasmine Smalls. Karisma. - _CrimeSheTyped_

Sadie Duncan. Kid Star. - _Dad. Hats_

Alexander Jackson Atlas. Atomix. - _FlamingFateZero_

Nicole Wesley. Weasel. - _101romansoldier_

 **Review Responses.**

 _jojobinks01:_ I have no idea what this is meant to say! PM me if you'd like to talk! Thanks for reading!

 _Princess of Flames:_ I hope this was as fun as the last chapter and this was a worthy follow up.

 _Stones in the Road:_ I'm glad you appreciate the Trinity I've got going, it was the core concept for this story. In terms of timeline, it takes place a few years after season 2 and basically ignores anything that might've happened during a season 3. The fresh start has been fantastic!

 _Apriciti:_ Again, yep! I can't wait to give this trio more screen time and explore Vixen and Red Hood's places in this world. I'm glad you're enjoying the writing!

 _Wraith's Heart:_ Glad to have it! Hope this didn't lose it by any means.

 _Soul of Lightning:_ By my watch, yes.

Thanks for reviewing! I'll be responding to every criticism, it's what I look forward to the most when I release a chapter. I hope you'll be reading when the next chapter comes out too!


	3. Assembly: Part 3

_May 30th 2020. Atlantic Ocean. 00:54 EST_

"Still no luck with the cameras?" Kid Star whispered, her and Weasel were standing at their rear of their five-man band, with X out at the point. In between the three were Knuckle Duster and Karisma, grouped with her two masked manta troopers.

It hadn't even been an hour since they'd met on the shoreline of Gotham harbor, and their deadline was a ways out, but none of the kids seemed prone to taking it easy for the evening.

"I'm completely blocked out, they must have figured out what I did in their wiring. But, the map is solid, the cockpit is definitely up that way," Weasel explained, pointing up her group towards X.

"Should be thirty seconds till the next group passes by," X whispered towards the pair in the rear. At the heads-up, Kid Star and Weasel refocused their attention on the task at hand. Having found the cockpit, they also found the biggest collection of manta troopers yet, clearly they knew what the goal was. And, for whatever reason, they didn't seem too eager to let the kids through without a fight.

Having watched their movements for a few minutes now, X was almost disappointed at the guards' simplicity. These guards were on a simple cyclical rotation around the cockpit, walking at even intervals around where they thought the controls to the Manta-Sub were located. Maybe Black Manta was just turning down the difficulty?

"I'm a little surprised," Red Hood said. His eyes, like those of his cohorts, were trained on the variety of security feeds coming from the Manta-Sub. "Was this the best challenge you could come up with, Black Manta? What's the trick here?"

"No trick," Manta admitted. "This is a lesson," he went on to explain, "most of these kids have been beating up on street thugs and petty criminals. For that reason, they probably feel nigh invincible right about now. I only told my men to give them a class on humility, with some reward money thrown in, for good measure."

"Some flashy gear puts them in the same class as metahumans?" Vixen asked, still trying to play up as much of a cold shoulder as she could towards the man in black.

Black Manta scoffed, a strange sound coming through his mechanical mask, "Their equipment is hardly anything to marvel at. No, what closes that gap is sheer experience. Nobody's born with it, and even money can't buy it."

Red Hood was stunned into contemplation for only a moment before shooting off his mouth, "Fashion sense?"

* * *

Dilias Sangriente's Harvester lagged behind his next target. The trooper just managed to scurry around a corner. His black body armor and feverish escape brought to mind the image of a rat running about, giving the demon a bit of a chuckle despite the victim getting away. He wrenched his arm back, pulling on the cord and returning his scythe back to him.

The Hellborn shouldered his weapon to look for another rat to catch. Behind him the sound of billowing flames became clear, and Dilias turned to see Atomix joining with him.

"Jesus Christ," Jason commented, addressing the fresh coat of crimson paint messily splattered across the floor and walls. Shredded among it were body parts, extremities and limbs strewn about like a violent piece of abstract vomit.

"You don't have to deal with the smell," Ajax responded, tearing his eyes away to take a long look at the artist in question.

Dilias laughed a bit, "Don't worry, they were all troopers, at least, I'm pretty sure. You're free to check if a hero or two got mixed up into the action."

Atomix was already past the point of niceties, but that comment alone, solidified his judgment. Jason couldn't read the boy's mind, but swimming around in his mind, he knew what emotions were pulsing through his bloodstream.

"He's a part of your team. You all have your place," Jason did his best to calm him, "prove you're better than him."

"I assumed you would be some sort of lovable villain. A person who does the wrong thing for the right reason," Atomix explained, addressing both the still demon before him and the voice in his head. "But, I couldn't have been more wrong. You're not a person at all."

"Now, you're catching on!" Dilias laughed, bending his knees, and readying his weapon for a fight.

"You're beyond redemption, and I won't work with you," Atomix reasoned. There was a steaming anger in his voice, but it never fell into full blown emotion. There was logic and thought to his words, even as his blood boiled. "If you fail the mission, then you'll be off this team. I'll throw you off this ship, and once _I've_ finished this mission, I'll personally hunt you down and turn you in to the authorities."

"You monster! You wouldn't dare get me… arrested! Would you?!" Dilias was laughing at his own jokes now, but keeping his fighting stance steady. "Why don't you try and kill me? Isn't that the proper punishment?"

"I'm not a murderer. And, I'm done talking," Atomix reared back his hands, throwing them forward to spout a twin set of flaming columns, filling the hallway with a cerulean blaze. After the fire had dissipated, Atomix could see a whirling sphere of dark, maroon flames, themselves disappearing after Dilias had realized the attack had relented.

Dilias' hand fell to his sides, a satisfied look on his face, "Sorry, hero, I've been feeding all night, my magic is in tip-top shape!"

Atomix abandoned the ranged attack, flying forward with his right arm cocked back. The moment his flames had sputtered to life, Dilias swung his scythe like a shovel, scooping the gory remains around his feet and flinging them towards the sky blue meteor looking to land a right hook.

It was enough to stop Ajax in his tracks, recoiling at the underhanded scattering of blood and muscles. The hand he raised to keep the it away from his face blocked his field of vision as well, it didn't go unnoticed by Dilias, who began his own charge forward, Harvester flailing behind him.

In a matter of moments, Dilias had closed the gap and pivoted his entire body, a full force swing of the scythe that began before Atomix had even recovered from the idea that dead men had just been tossed at him. By pure reflexes he managed to bend out of the way of most of the scythe. Its longest blade managed to open a gash along the boy's costume and chest, exposing a neat, horizontal wound that earned Dilias a delicious scream of pain.

Looking to turn the fight away from a melee duel, Atomix backed away, tossing a shotgun blast of fiery energy to ensure his measured retreat. The time he bought should have been spent repairing the wound with his powers and some practiced transmutation. Instead, the effort proved to be fruitless, no amount of matter put into the wound would survive for long, disintegrating away into dull, black sand.

"Jason?"

"I don't know!"

"Jason?!"

"Dilias!" the demon exclaimed his own name, fiercely rotating for another shot at the hero, who slid under the cleave.

'At long range, Dilias was able to defend himself from my attacks,' Ajax began to silently break down what he knew piece by piece, trying to pick out the weakness among his opponent's strengths. His train of thought was put on pause by another strike of the Harvester, avoided by a roll across the hard metal ground.

As much as he seemed to enjoy the fight, Dilias was able to control himself, holding back in his swing just enough to prevent his movements being slowed by a weapon stuck in the metal floor.

'I can't risk a short range confrontation, that weapon can break through my defense. Even worse I can't heal myself-' this time a pulse of energy jetted Atomix away from a trained combination of slices, completely ejecting himself from the attack's range.

'How does science beat magic?' he continued to think to himself, now floating mid-air a couple meters from the approaching demon. Behind Atomix was a right turn down another hallway, but the last thing he wanted to do was waste more time escaping from this psychopath.

Dilias was grinning, but halted his approach towards Atomix. "You know why you're losing this fight, right?" he asked, keeping the motions of his left fingers as discrete as possible.

"Get him monologuing," Jason advised, "he's strong, but he's deranged and arrogant, push whatever weakness you can-"

"I know!" Ajax replied loudly. His mind was running a hundred miles a minute, and sometimes it simply felt like Jason was occupying a little too much of his head.

"You do?" Dilias answered, "Well, I had a whole little speech prepared…"

"It's because I'm holding back," Atomix said, hoping to sound as intimidating as possible. 'Where's his weakness? Could I try depleting him of his magic? No, I shouldn't rely on factors I don't know anything about, that's irresponsible.'

"Exactly! You're a hero. So, when you look around this hallway, you're seeing hallowed grounds, you wanna be careful around these corpses, even though they're criminals. You could probably blow this whole ship to kingdom come, but you won't because there are a few actual heroes aboard, even though it's full of career criminals, even though it belongs to a fully-fledged supervillain."

'Should I try manipulating his weapon? Destroying it, or transmuting it?' Atomix's thoughts barreled on through Dilias' speech. 'No, the wound he caused, it wasn't normal, it's another piece of magic I need to stay away from. I need to focus on what I do know! What has he done that I know?'

"It's the same story with all boy scouts," continued Dilias. "You think these strict morals give you this righteous power, but, that's simply not true."

'His fire!' Ajax leaped to the conclusion and was immediately ready to set his plan into action, "Are you done, yet, Dilias?" The question was rhetorical, only meant to give Atomix a moment to gather up a great deal of azure flames around his body, and then focusing as much fire as he could on a single finger.

"Not yet, actually," Dilias answered honestly. Though he couldn't care less about his speech, it was true his little trump card needed some more time.

But, Atomix was ready, and he began his flight forward, unleashing a thin stream of intense flames from his index finger, targeting the Harvester's handle as precisely as nuclear stream of energy could be wielded.

Surprised to see he wasn't the target, Dilias wasn't prepared to dodge with his weapon, which from an instant shifted from room temperature to scalding hot, and the weapon was dropped onto the floor, proving step one of Ajax's plan as a success.

Step two began with a wider stream of flames, a conical burst of brilliant sapphire blazes that might've incinerated the villain, had he not summoned his own hellfire to form a barrier around him. It was exactly as Atomix had predicted.

Making contact with the flame, Ajax performed the first trick he had ever learned, before he'd even become Atomix, absorbing the energy into his own body. Normally, flames felt plain, like a part of himself that would neatly assimilate into his own nuclear energy, making the boy ever stronger. But, this dark, sickly flame was entirely different. It wasn't adding to his flames, but seemed to push them out, replacing them and deleting what was there before.

While it stole from his power, it hardly impeded from the boy's forceful advance. Atomix still persevered through the hellish barrier, his normal cloak of blue flames being doused and replaced with a more diabolical substitute.

Dilias' hellfire had disappeared, completely absorbed by Atomix, leaving the young demon was left vulnerable without his magical protection. But, the timing was a stroke of good fortune, for as the fire was replaced by Atomix himself, his left hand stopped working, the magic finally finished.

In place of reacting to the hero's fist, Dilias merely raised his own hand, holding a violet magic circle that pulsed and sparked with the energy he'd packed into it. Once loosely aimed, he activated the spell, unloading the sinister wave of magic upon his opponent. Pure corruption sorcery flowed towards and through Atomix, enough power that could wipe out a squadron of soldiers, turning them to the black sand that plagued the gash in his chest.

Against Atomix, Dilias had figured the spell would be enough to incapacitate his foe and get rid of the pest. But, it had the opposite effect. Now, this magic was easily assimilated into Ajax, who continued to barrel forward while throwing his right fist to connect with the creature's jaw. The last thing Dilias saw was a specter of destruction, cloaked in black flames, and fuming with an entirely unnatural energy, an Atomix that had completely changed, and then his body slammed against the cold metal.

Ajax had defeated his enemy. He'd obliterated his obstacle. He didn't feel like himself. He didn't recognize the body he saw when he looked at himself. A quiet yelling came from the back of his head. Why were his flames black? That injury in his chest was gone.

"I should kill Dilias…" The voice was loud and pronounced, it was not his own. It wasn't Jason's either. "He deserves it," the voice continued. Something booming, his head was just a hollow cave filled by the echo of these thoughts. Were they his own? "HE DESERVES IT, ATOMIX!"

His arm agreed, raised and blazing black, poised to wash the demon in those cruel, devilish flames.

That quiet voice became loud as it broke through the cave, "You're Alexander Jackson Atlas!" Jason shouted, not a command, not an edict, but merely a reminder. And the boy agreed.

Atomix disappeared, black flames receding, mental state changing, his black irises filling the white voids that had been there before. And, the boy fell to the floor, joining the demon in unconsciousness.

* * *

X's arm swept down, The signal for each of the heroes to make their move, keeping their steps as silent as possible as they followed his lead down the corridor, looking to break through this round of guards and move another hallway closer towards their goal.

Had they not been so focused on that progress, they might've noticed a quiet, chirp from one trooper's belt, his own signal being broadcast to every other trooper in the vicinity.

"How many times do you think I've lost? Ms. McCabe? Mr. Hood?" Black Manta asked, growing increasingly interested in the events playing out on screen. "How many times has a vigilante, dressed like yourselves, or like our young friends, gotten in the way of my quest? How many times have they knocked down one of my soldiers? How many plans have been uprooted by some know-nothing boy scout?"

Again, X waited out for a quartet of troopers to move by them. These troopers too seemed to fail to notice the party's progress behind their backs. But, again, a chirp went off, another signal broadcast to every trooper in the area as the heroes imagined themselves pulling another fast one over on the mooks.

"Dozens? No, hundreds, at the very least. I've been losing ever since I took on my own moniker. Every defeat has forced adaptation and evolution. Every blunder pushed me closer to perfection, and every misstep led to a rerouting of my path," there was clear passion in Manta's voice. He was happy? No, he was excited to make this point, whether he was happy to make it to the two vigilantes next to him or the one's invading his ship, it couldn't be said.

For the third time, four troopers had passed by, and X saw what he thought was the opening in the pattern, throwing down his hand again to silently lead the way through another corridor.

But, as soon as they crossed the hallway, he'd recognized the catastrophe he'd just walked into.

"If nothing else, manta troopers know how to lose."

What he thought would be a squadron obliviously walking away was actually eight manta troopers in a uniform positioned to the group's right side, immediately opening fire on sight.

The group was divided at the sound of gunfire, Karisma, X and Weasel had managed to cross the hallway, hiding around the corner from the gunmen, but on the other side were Kid Star and Knuckle, who had both pulled themselves back instead. Their reactions were so close one of Karisma's puppet troopers had even been caught in the fray, blown away by the bullets with no mercy from his former comrades.

"We'll find another way through! Go on ahead!" Kid Star shouted over the endless rounds fired, waiting for an affirmative from the group on the other side. When they nodded their response, Kid Star fled through the way they came, Knuckle close behind her.

Reaching the corridor they'd crossed before, the hallway was entirely different now. Along the path was a half dozen oblong explosives, detonated by the itchy trigger finger of a trooper off to the side.

The explosions pushed back the duo, trapping them between the bomb-ridden the hallway and the one filled with flying lead.

Hoping those detonations had removed any danger, the two cautiously pressed backwards again looking to escape the gunfire that seemed to be drawing closer. The eight troopers that had laid the initial trap were slowly marching forward, looking to delete the distance between them and their targets.

"Call it off!" Vixen shouted. The devastation had come far too close, and she was far beyond regretting her request to test these kids.

Black Manta didn't comply. He simply watched on as the gunmen drew closer to their targets.

Weasel braved to make a move around the corner, lashing her arm around the harsh turn, hoping to blindly disarm a soldier with her whip form of Junior, but, before the robot could reach any of her targets, a bullet found its home in the girl's bicep. She crumpled to the floor, Junior responded automatically to the impact, returning to defend the girl's exposed arm before Karisma used her soldier puppet to pull the girl out of the way of the fire.

"We need to advance!" X commanded, not waiting for a response as he crept closer to the cockpit, but before he could make it into the next corridor, a short sword slashed around the corner, harshly halting his progress. The trooper swordsmen was joined by two others, who formed a wall of soldiers ready for action and keeping close watch on the three heroes.

Karisma moved to place her puppet in the point position, raising his rifle to unload on the trio. But, it was as if they had read the move out of playbook, and two swordsmen attacked in perfect unison, one slashing the weapon to render it obsolete, and the other gutting the man. The sudden attack removed the mask from the man, but X didn't let the chance go to waste, advancing on the two with knives in hand.

X got the jump on one trooper, who he managed to kick off to the side, and his knives blocked the thrust from the other manta trooper, parrying the blade off to the side. Karisma took advantage of the third trooper in the rear, focusing her powers on him to apply a mask. When the first trooper had recovered from X's kick, he looked to interrupt his duel with the other, but found himself wrapped up by the third manta swordsman, his motions being puppeted by Karisma, who was grabbing at nothing as tight as she possibly could.

Ellis had fought dozens, if not hundred of guys with blades, pocket knives, flashy butterfly blades, steak knives, broken bottles and everything in between, and his knifework had kept him a league ahead, but just one of these troopers was proving a problem. There was a tangible gap in discipline and training, the only thing X had going for him was an advantage in size and drive, his relentless attacks with long reach shoring up his blatant inexperience.

All the while, the gunfire didn't relent, with each moment bringing the eight weapons closer and closer.

Vixen pushed Red Hood out of the way when he tried to intervene. "You've proven your point, you vindictive son of a bitch! We get it, villains are cool. You're competent, you have value. Killing these kids is not the point of this exercise!"

"It was your idea," Manta casually replied.

"Is that what this is about? Are you upset that I doubted your team? Still whining about me joining your crusade?"

"They won't have much chance at fighting the Justice League if they can't beat a few, how'd you put it? Heartless thugs? Brutes? I've heard so many insults flung their way. I get them mixed up."

"And I'll send them all a Hallmark card after this is over! Don't kill these kids!"

"Knuckle Duster, can you stop that gunfire or the bombs?"

"What?!"

Kid Star didn't have time for her questions to be questioned, "We're stuck between a rock and hard place! Which one can you handle?"

"Stupid question!" Knuckle criticized, "They need our help there," he pointed to the trio in front, Weasel, reeling from her gunshot, Karisma struggling to tie up a trooper with her powers and X furiously slashing at his foe. "So we go forward!"

Red Hood pulled back the hammer on his pistol, nestling the barrel between the pieces of armor covering Manta's head and neck. "I'm siding with Vixen here, Manta. Call it off. This was a mistake."

Manta turned about face, looking at his threat directly. He waited a moment, ready to see what would be coming next.

"I'm not playing around anymore, Manta!"

"Just remember," he replied, pressing a series of buttons on his forearm's communication device, "that when we disagreed, it was the heroes that drew first. Not me."

Across the video screens, the troopers were relenting in their assault, halting their fire, disarming their weapons and backing off from their intruders. The troopers in the cockpit called for the Manta-Flyer to return to the Sub on their own.

The children had failed their first test.

"It certainly goes quite far to show who trusts who in this relationship," Manta said plainly, returning his gaze to the screens while the Flyer set a course for the Sub.

* * *

The time between the mission being called off and the two ships reconnecting was equal parts embarrassing and awkward. At first, the kids believed the armistice was another ploy, some move by the troopers to lure them into a false sense of security. But, when they began treating Weasel medically, and showing them communication with Red Hood, who explained the situation, they were able to relax.

In the medical ward, they were joined by Atomix and Dilias, brought in by a pair of manta troopers. Everyone else was being thoroughly examined and checked up on by the very people who were trying to kill them just a little while before then.

Once the two ships had joined up with one another, the team was summoned to the Flyer. Karisma stayed behind to watch over Weasel, who was sleeping off the round being taken out of her shoulder, and Atomix lagged a bit behind, looking for a private place to talk to himself.

In an empty sleeping quarters, the boy was back to being the nuclear superhero, transforming himself the moment he woke up from that strange sleep. Much to his relief, his flames were back to their normal hue and the only voice he heard was Jason's and his own.

"Do you have any idea what happened back there?" Ajax asked him directly.

"Up until now, I've been keeping something from you," Jason admitted. "Being part of the Firestorm Matrix means you can see the memories of its past members, but, I've been hiding some from you."

"What does that have to do with that black fire?"

"I'm not sure how," Jason admitted. "But, something about Dilias' magic brought out an entity called Deathstorm, another part of the Matrix."

"And you've been keeping it from me?"

"Only temporarily. There aren't many absolutes in this world. Being a part of Firestorm is proof enough that just about anything can change. But, Deathstorm is absolute evil. It's malice and destruction, and it should be sealed away."

"Any other secrets you wanna let me in on?" Ajax asked, freely agitated now. "I'm supposed to be a superhero, you're telling me I can become that thing again? That it's a part of me?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Jason said honestly. Not that there was much use in lying to Ajax while he resided in the teenager's head. "I'll tell you what I can find out, but, for now, I'd just keep your distance from that demon."

"Don't need you to tell me that," Ajax said dismissively, leaving the quarters to get told how badly they failed their mission.

On the Manta Flyer, there was a long rectangular room, sporting two portholes on one wall to the murky ocean water outside and lined with gentle overhead lights. In its center was a long metal table surrounded by simple chairs. At the end of it was a large screen, standing in front of it was Vixen, sitting on either side of her at the table were Black Manta and Red Hood, both silently contemplating their own take on the evening.

When Atomix walked into the room, already there was Dilias, rocking his chair back and forth happily, who shot a lazy smile towards him, Ajax did his best to avoid the demon's gaze. On the other side of him were X and Kid Star, both silently sitting next to one another. Knuckle Duster couldn't bring himself to sit, leaning against the wall with a frustrated snarl plastered on his face. Atomix sat on the other side of Kid Star without a word.

Only a moment passed before Weasel and Karisma joined up, the latter supporting Weasel who was slung over her shoulder. Yasmine gently helped the other girl into a seat close to the entrance, Junior hopping playfully onto the table. The robot might have been the only thing in the room that couldn't feel the thick sense of tension in the air.

"Glad to see you all here," Vixen said honestly. Though it may have been insulting to some of the heroes, she was genuinely relieved to see the kids safe and sound. "It should already be clear, but you all failed your mission, which is why it was aborted."

No one was especially surprised by the news, but it still hit like a truck. Knuckle Duster struggled to keep himself in one piece. X could only think about his family back home, and how upset they'd be. Even Kid Star, apprehensive at the concept of teaming up was distraught at the truth of how poorly she'd performed under pressure.

"I'm not sure it counts as a failure, if they weren't allowed to finish the test," Black Manta said coldly. His comment was not one of compassion or sympathy, merely an objective observation of his, one taken into consideration by Red Hood.

"Drop it, Manta," Vixen quickly pressed, looking to shut down any discussion on the subject. "Their involvement in this operation is over."

Again, her words were crushing. Weasel was so disappointed in the outcome, even Junior took note, looking to comfort the girl as best a robot weasel can.

"What the hell, Manta?" Dilias shouted, slamming the four legs of his chair back to the floor, "What happened to what I was promised?"

"At the very least," Red Hood said calmly, "I think we can offer them answers for their effort, no?"

Vixen pondered the idea. Why was he suddenly so willing to divulge secrets to people who wouldn't even be a part of the Operation? Even the discrete Manta nodded at the suggestion, prompting the woman to sigh deeply before going forward.

"What we're about to tell you," Vixen began, "is never to be spoken about, to anyone. You all guard these secrets with your lives, if you really want these answers."

No one was about to move, instead, they momentarily forgot their failings, and were paying rapt attention to this presentation.

"About one month ago, Black Manta offered paid a visit to an individual close to him. A certain superhero who has close ties to the Justice League."

"You know him as Aqualad," Black Manta revealed on his own. "No need to treat them with kiddie gloves, Ms. McCabe."

Vixen nodded, but was even more baffled. That family tie was a closely guarded secret, and he just let it go like it was nothing. What was his play? "Yes, Aqualad. Manta presented his son," Mari looked to see a reaction from Manta, but got nothing. He was happy to let these kids know their exact relation too?

"With a certain gift, a prototypical piece of technology meant to defend against psychic attacks. The device was a result of studies done from a past telepathic attack they were both subject to," again no reaction from Manta, nothing even like flinch at noting his past failing. "When Manta applied the technology to his son, it actively disrupted a psychic hold on him."

This was the first piece of news that lent surprise more to the team than to Vixen herself. "For a few moments, Aqualad let Manta in on a few vital pieces of information before stopping himself. Despite that device continuing to function, he fell under a different sort of control, shut himself up and left."

She paused to let the scenario sink in, but it only made Kid Star anxious to hear more. "You're not going to make us ask, are you? What did he say?"

"The first was that he didn't have much time," Manta now picked up the story, quoting his son from his seat. "The second, was that he'd had been under someone's control for the past two months. And, the third, was that every member of the Justice League and of his covert team were also under somebody's thrall," Manta ended the story there.

'So there is something he wanted to leave out,' Mari noticed, 'the fourth piece of information.'

Red Hood seized his turn at storytelling. "A week after that, I had run across Nightwing, someone I've known for a long while," he detailed, choosing to stand for his part of the narrative. "Without divulging too much of my history, it was unlikely that he would ever see me again, after the last he'd heard of my situation. When he did, it was like he seized up, he short-circuited and couldn't react on his own. It was something beyond nervousness or shock. Manta coincidentally sought me out as a way to test the information he'd found.

"The short of it is, we've done a lot of tests over the past few weeks, and every member of the Justice League and their covert ops team we met has been compromised in some way, by multiple means of control. Having erased all doubts, Manta and I created a plan for ourselves to solve the problem. Operation Saratoga."

He paused then, realizing that, while he'd been fully aware of this information for a while now, these kids had heard the details for a first time, and were most likely in shock, at the very least.

There wasn't much of a response, so Vixen took the reigns again. "We have hard evidence for anyone that wants to see it, audio recordings of conversations, video footage-"

"That is one God awful name," X interrupted. "Saratoga? Who came up with that?"

Kid Star replaced his questions with her own, "If somebody is controlling that many superheroes, then what are they doing with them? If it's a villain, how is the whole world not completely under their control?"

"At this point," Manta interjected, "We only have a hypothesis about the people pulling the strings. It's unconfirmed. And, I came up with the name."

"How do you believe somebody have managed that?" Weasel asked, feeling the pain in her arm when she politely tried to raise it before asking the question.

"It's unknown," Vixen answered. "And, it doesn't really matter. Honestly, we've already given out too much information to people who aren't going to be involved with the Operation," she observed, eyeing Manta and Red Hood one after the other.

"Might as well let us in on it," Knuckle loudly remarked, "We'll definitely pass next time."

"Excuse me?" Vixen asked.

But, Knuckle's attention was already turned from the trinity at the front to the six others at the table. "When are you guys free next, huh? Two or three days to rest up and you'll all be ready, right?"

"You are not-" The superheroine was interrupted this time, the seven at the other end were collectively paying no mind.

"My press tour in Gotham ends in three. Let's just get it over with the day after tomorrow," Karisma said lazily.

Dilias laughed at nothing in particular, "Hey, I promise to play nice the second time around too. If joining up with all y'all means I get my loot at the end."

"I'll be keeping you at arm's length all the same," Atomix quickly remarked, "but I can fly over whenever. I'll have an actual plan by two days."

"Ditto," Kid Star answered. "I won't be able to get my work done if Gotham is run by corrupt police and corrupt vigilantes, only one or the other."

X groaned, "I gotta take the train here again? Any chance I can shack up with one of you until round two?"

"There isn't going to be a round two!" Vixen shouted, seizing control of the room once more, and putting to bed any idea of repeating the night's fiasco.

"I agree," Red Hood said, pulling Vixen back while the other seven continued to talk scheduling.

"How do we talk them out of this?" Vixen quietly questioned.

"No need to," Hood replied, "they're rough around the edges. But, they accomplished a lot on their first night. Imagine what they could do with training. Imagine what they could do with Manta's resources at their back, instead of in their face?"

"Precisely my thoughts, Mr. Hood," Black Manta had silently joined the duo, feeling left out at what was now the kid's table. "There was more talent than even I expected. Certainly their perseverance to try their hand at my defenses again is frightening. I'm not sure my ship would survive continued invasion."

"Absolutely not!" Vixen protested, trying to keep her shouting as quiet as possible. "Tonight only proved the danger in inviting them."

"On the contrary," Manta replied, "it only showed the benefits."

"Don't wanna lose your supervillains in training?"

"The Operation needs them, Mari," Red Hood intervened. "Without them, we're stuck spinning our wheels at Stage One. Once we can move to the next step, we can finally start solving this mess."

"We can't risk their lives."

"I believe they already have," Manta said. "And are perfectly willing to do so again, just for the chance to put themselves into even more danger."

Vixen contemplated her position. She didn't want to concede the point to the two of them, but they were right about some things. And, she was already outvoted, their discussion was really only a nicetie. What choice did she have?

"Fine," she relented. "But, we don't begin Stage Two until we are positive they're ready. All three of us."

"Of course," Red Hood accepted, echoed by a nod from Manta.

Their huddle broke and the trio turned to face the seven young kids, stuck in heated debate about moving the time schedule up another day to the next night. Comments about train rides, bullet wounds, and strategies were flung about till Red Hood whistled sharply to catch their attention.

"I'm not one for big speeches," Red Hood said. "So, welcome to Operation Saratoga."

* * *

 _May 30th 2020. Blüdhaven. 02:07 EST_

The evening had adjourned with a mild celebration, and the ten had scheduled to meet for training and a further debriefing in one week. But, any potential for discussion and pleasantries were cut short by everyone being absolutely exhausted. Even now, Nicole Wesley struggled to keep her eyes open wide while riding her motorcycle into Blüdhaven. It didn't matter too much as the bike could easily drive itself to her home base in the city, but her evening couldn't end until her last rendezvous.

Driving up the ramp of the empty parking garage, she arrived at the third floor, where the overhead fluorescent lights were all out, making Nicole's bike's headlight the only illumination in the concrete lot.

As she rolled to a stop towards the center of the pitch black area, the lights suddenly sparked to life. Literally, each row came alight with volt of electricity discharged into them, revealing the trio of heroes walking towards Nicole.

Aqualad, Static and Nightwing were silent in their approach, meeting up with the girl, and it was Static who first noticed the bandaging on her arm.

"You okay?" he asked, coming close for an inspection.

"I'm fine, I think it helped sell things," Weasel admitted, nonchalantly rubbing the wound.

"I'm sorry you had to get hurt. I'm not surprised my father would stoop so low as to get child recruits shot at."

"Were you suspected?" Nightwing asked, following the apology.

Weasel shook her head. "Not that I know of. But, I got what you asked for!" Junior hopped over to Nightwing, ejecting a thumbdrive from his robotic body into the young hero's hand. "Those are ship schematics, security codes, details on Manta's armory, and short files I could piece together on everyone there."

"You're brother would be proud," Nightwing said honestly.

"I'm surprised to hear that Fang would be proud of me doing the right thing," Nicole replied, trying to hide her giddy embarrassment at the compliment.

The young man approached a placed a confident palm on her shoulder, "He's doing great work with our team. Just like you are. When he gets back from assignment, I'm sure you'll have some killer stories to tell him."

"We'll brief the League on everything in your files," Aqualad interrupted. "But, can you tell us if it's true? Is this coalition planning to attack the Justice League?"

Nicole grimaced at the very idea. Thinking back to being in the room with the villains targeting the best the world had to offer. "Yes, they are. They've got the other kids duped into believing them as well, they think you're all under some boogeyman's control."

Static scoffed, "Well, that's news to me. Pretty bold thinking they can take on the tip top of the totem pole."

"I'm not sure what they're plan is," Weasel said, "we're supposed to find out more in a week. Do you still want me going back?"

Nightwing sighed, as if delivering the order with a heavy heart. "It's dangerous, I know, but, yes. We need to know exactly what they're planning, and you're our only reliable source of information. I'm sorry we have to put such a heavy burden on your shoulders after you just joined the Team."

"No need for apologies," Weasel said. "I'm happy to help. They need to pay for what they're doing."

"Don't worry," Aqualad assured her, "they will."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading! What did you think of the end of the Arc? I was excited to get this one out, so please, let me know what you thought of it. Got a favorite character, or fight yet? The second Arc should begin shortly! We'll be shining a light on some characters that didn't get as much love these past two chapters, so please, look forward to then.

 **Review Responses!**

 _CrimeSheTyped:_ B-652 was great fun, glad the experiment was appreciated. Hopefully this too answered and asked more questions, that's usually the goal.

 _JimmyHall24:_ Hopefully this had enough Black Manta and Vixen action to keep you satisfied, we'll see 'em in combat soon enough too.

 _davidthemightypaladin:_ Sorry I couldn't accept more into the story, guy. I do appreciate the kind words.

 _WhenUniversesCollide:_ I'm relieved to hear my interpretation was on the mark. Feel free to let me know if you feel differently. Thanks a lot for the support!

 _maxcron:_ I'm happy you still read despite Daniel's exclusion. Knowing I left lasting impressions for them all actually means a lot, characterization is something I've really tried to hone in on doing right.

 _Riiiiin-Chan218:_ Here's hoping this lived up to the hype. Here is also the answer to your Dilias and Atomix question. But the Demon and Anthony were a lot of fun to write together as well, that certainly won't be the last time.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Or just reading! Or just reviewing... somehow? See ya next time!


	4. Lower Class Love: Part 1

_June 6th 2020. Atlantic Ocean. 10:22 CDT_

Ellis stood over the eight-year old girl, his towering frame of almost six and a half feet eclipsing the short girl in overalls and a t-shirt.

"Alright, repeat it back to me, Sis," he said, arms crossed as if his business was gravely serious.

The two stood in the center of a run down apartment lobby in the heart of Chicago's rougher neck of the woods. The place was five stories tall and abandoned since a few years back, but was no less of home for that reason. Ellis had worked hard on restoring it to habitable status for him and his gang of Defectors to take refuge. Filled to the brim with kids, orphans and street rats, it still wasn't pretty, but it was safe, and it was a home lined with family and memories, for him, and every other occupant.

The little girl took in a deep breath. She was determined to get it right this time, she walked over to the two bags of dog kibble about as big herself, beginning the recitation she'd been going over for almost a week, "Four bowls of kibble in the alley when I wake up, reading for two hours at least, three bowls in the alley before sundown, and bed by ten."

"Ten?"

"Please…?" she asked, with a toothy smile she hoped would win over the teenager. She was short, with narrow, brown eyes and slick black hair. She didn't look a thing like her adoptive brother, but it didn't mean the girl failed to pull at his heartstrings.

"Ten o'clock," he conceded, with a short cheer from the girl, "and not a minute later, alright?"

"Promise," she said with a nod, "The dogs will be nice and happy too."

"Good, I don't wanna lose any customers," he said with a smile, slinging a faded blue backpack over his shoulders. It sported his name in dark marker and childish handwriting on the top, and inside were a few t-shirts, a collection of knives and a handgun, with his mask and costume stuffed at the bottom, and a toothbrush his sister had convinced him to bring along.

"Can you believe this kid's nerve?! He was about to leave without giving us all a hug and a kiss!"

A bulky teenager was the source of the question, leading in a group of a dozen or so adolescents along with him, all dressed in a varied assortment of messy scuffed up clothes, but smiling brightly as they threw in their jokes and comments at Ellis, who couldn't help but smile himself.

"You think playin' hero makes you too good for us, pretty boy?" Jaz asked, slinging his arm tight around the other.

"Hey, hey, I'm the real deal now," Ellis meekly defended, he knew better than trying to fight against the tidal wave of the gang's teasing.

"Man, Defector University is finally getting a true Summer break with Teach out of the way," another boy called.

"I would hope you all keep reading while I'm gone," Ellis said.

"I'm losing brain cells already, Teach!"

"Like you had any," Jaz quickly replied.

"Just remember that Sevii's in charge while I'm gone," Ellis joked, nodding to the little girl, who was clearly taking her role as substitute gang boss very seriously.

"How about you remember to make it back in one piece," Jaz said, less joking and more worry in his tone, echoed by nodding from the crowd. "Chicago needs X just as much as those East Coast chumps."

Ellis almost blushed at the compliment from his older friend, nodding before answering, "I'll be careful, thank you Jaz. Try to keep everybody out of trouble while I'm gone."

"Since when have we ever gotten in trouble?" he asked, offended, earning a splattered cackle from the rest of the boys. "Now, get out of here. We got, you know, books to read, and all that."

Ellis grinned wide, nodding along, and walking out of the shoddy apartment lobby with an exaggerated wave behind him.

Sure the guy was out of earshot, a lanky, scarred up boy turned to Jaz, "You're not really gonna make us read, right, boss?"

"You can't read anyways Riff," he slung the words, keeping the kid quiet while earning some laughs. "Sevii, you might wanna scram for a minute."

"But, Ell said-"

"I heard what he said," Jaz replied grimly. The girl walked off pouting, looking for nicer kids in the building to spend time with while her brother was out on his new mission. "Now that Ellis is out, we're taking out the Sharks. What they've been doing by the high school is no joke, we're cutting them off. Pluckin' 'em by the roots."

"What do we tell Ellis when he gets back?" Riff asked, eager to make up for his insult.

"That we just edged 'em out. Ellis wants us protecting the school anyways, it's better he doesn't know how it gets done."

"Why's he the boss at all? Just cause he's got that name? That mask?" Riff pushed further.

Jaz wrapped his arm around the kid's neck, pulling his skull into Jaz's chest. "Maybe it's cause you weren't with us back in Gotham, punk. But it's clear as crystal why he's the boss," he let the kid go with a shove, "Nobody messes with Ellis, just like nobody messes with the Defectors, without him, everybody in this building would be livin' off scraps, if they were still breathing at all. Don't you ever forget that."

* * *

Ellis bobbed his head back and forth before keeping his vision still and returning to the pencil sketch on the dirty notepad in his hands. A mixture of furious speed and precision, he shaded in another part of the artwork, failing to notice the black town car pulling up in front of the bench he was sitting at. It was only when the driver stepped out and opened the passenger door in front of Ellis did he realize his ride had arrived.

"Hi there, Yasmine!" Ellis stood quickly and snatched at his backpack stepping towards the car.

"Your bag, sir," the driver stated, politely holding out a gloved hand to take it from him.

"Oh, no worries. I can put it away," Ellis said with a smile, but his offer was dashed by Yasmine.

The girl leaned from her side in the roomy rear seat of the car, looking up from her phone, "It's his job, Ellis, give him the bag."

Not dropping his smile, he carefully passed over the backpack, watching the driver's every move as he dropped it into the trunk with Yasmine's luggage. Only after the trunk was shut tight that he could breathe easily, "Thanks, it was Jeeves, right?"

The driver ignored the comment, closing the door behind Ellis as he joined Yasmine in the back seat. "Thanks for the ride, by the way, it would've been a rough-"

"Ellis, right?" A middle-aged man in the front seat reached a hand through the partition, offering it and a practiced smile. "I'm Daniel Heppenstall, Yazz's dad and manager. Note the order of those two."

The boy met the handshake while the car started up, "Um, your dad?"

"He's fine. I didn't tell him about any of _really_ the secret stuff though."

"Like my secret identity?"

"I'm _cool,_ Ellis," the man emphasized his words, "I'm her cool dad, I think the whole team-up is great for her image."

Yasmine rolled her eyes, "I accidentally called Lionel the cool dad, can you please drop it?"

"Hey, it's dropped," Daniel assured her, "because _I'm_ the cool dad."

"Partition is going up," Yasmine said, regretting inviting even one of her dads along with the her on the trip to New York.

"Don't do anything back there I wouldn't approve of!" Daniel ordered before the tinted, soundproof glass reached the ceiling of the car.

Yasmine went to typing something out on her phone, and Ellis quickly put the finishing touches on his sketch before carefully tearing it out of the notepad. "Here," he said, offering the drawing to Yasmine. "You didn't have to offer me a ride all the way from out here in Chicago, it was nice of you. Sorry I can't give you more than this."

The girl looked over the drawing. It was carefully shaded, a little messy but good. It showed Karisma standing on the roof of some nondescript skyscraper, smiling and dressed in costume. When Yasmine first became a superhero, this was the kind of scene she imagined herself being a part of, some beacon of a hero, just like the comics she kept hidden away in her room.

She looked up at its artist, to see Ellis with expectant eyes, waiting for some sort of judgment. He looked too big for the car, seeming to tower high despite him sitting still. Even his eyes were too big, like large, hazel dinner plates, coupled with long eyelashes. Smooth blackish brown hair spilled out of a beanie cap. The only noticeable blemish of the boy was an "X" shaped scar across his face, in the exact spot where that "X" was placed on the boy's mask. His Batman hoodie jacket and jeans seemed a little old, like they were clinging to tightly to the boy's narrow frame.

"Thank you," she finally managed to get out. "It's," she looked for the right word to describe what the picture meant, but shook her head and abandoned the idea. "It's really not that big of a deal, the plane was nothing."

"We're flying?"

"You wouldn't think a superstar would let herself get stuck in a road trip for twelve hours, would you?" the boy's demeanor seemed to change a bit, as if he was unsettled by the news. "Don't tell me you're scared of heights," the girl said tauntingly.

"It's just been a while," he admitted. "First thing I ever remember was getting off of a plane with that backpack in the trunk."

"You must've had a nice family if you were jetting around the world as a kid."

"That was only around two years ago," Ellis said. Those dinner plates were out of focus, looking past Yasmine, instead seeing the Gotham City terminal he recalled so vividly.

"Alright, I'm lost," Yasmine said, "Aren't you like fifteen or something? How's your first memory from when you were already a teenager?"

"I'm not sure," he explained with a shrug. "I'm chock full of mysteries, aren't I?"

"Something like that," Yasmine said with a shake of her head. She was unsure of what to do with the boy next to her, unsure of what to do in general. She acted on a sort of impulse, pulling out her smartphone, and putting the sketch in the best possible lighting she could manage.

"You can keep the picture," Ellis said, "you don't have to photograph it, y'know."

The girl settled on an angle and snapped her shot, beginning to rush out her Tweet before responding to the boy. "It's a good drawing. I figure other people might wanna see it too."

She freed the image onto the internet, and then snatched up a black cord. "What kind of music do you like, Ellis. My cold, cold heart's been touched, I'll let you pick the first song of the road trip."

"Oh I don't know," Ellis said with little thought, "I usually let Jaz and the other guys use the radios we've got." He paused, but could see the girl was pretty dissatisfied, if not insulted with the answer. "Hey! Why don't we play some of your music? I've been curious about it since I heard you were a musician."

"Are you saying you've never listened to my album? You didn't even cross one of my songs on YouTube or something?"

"That's the video website, right? Sorry, we don't have any computers back at my place," Ellis admitted with a nervous laugh.

"You don't even have a laptop? A smartphone?"

"What's a smartphone?"

Yasmine just about went into cardiac arrest at the question. "Excuse me?"

"I'm kidding. I know what a smartphone is. But, nope, no cell of my own."

The girl recovered from her shock, laughing a bit at herself. "I'll see what we can do about that. Anyways," Yasmine pressed the play button on her phone, and the beginnings of a catchy, electronic beat began playing on the speakers, "allow me to introduce you to Karisma."

The short drive that followed was mostly occupied by Karisma's music. Ellis was careful not to interrupt, but in the brief break between tracks, he would offer his thoughts, earning a sparse conversation with the girl until the next song began to pick up. Nearly at the end of the album, they reach the airport in Chicago.

Yasmine's dad was a bit overbearing once they were inside, not letting the two teenagers out of his sight. Throughout the terminal, people were running up in packs to say whatever they could to the girl. Yasmine reveled in the attention, signing, smiling, posing and shaking hands with whoever wanted to come forth.

Lucky for the weapons in Ellis' utility backpack, they were exempt from the normal security measurements. But, just being around the celebrity meant he caught some of the attention as it rebounded off of the icon he was accompanying. He took pictures, smiled wide, and politely answered "No," every time an over eager girl asked the two teenagers about being an item, though each time the question was asked, Mr. Heppenstall ground his teeth together just a bit more.

Finally on the private jet taking the pair out to New York, Ellis felt able to breathe easily, out of the crowd. But, Yasmine was coming down from the rush, Tweeting about how great her fans in Illinois were for greeting her at the airport. There was a bit more drawing, pop music and a plethora of stupid jokes before they touched down on the East coast.

Countless miles in the air, the two all but forgot about their destination and their other names. What was supposed to be a strange and awkward trip had transformed into something all too normal for the pair. But, that's not to say one would've heard any complaints from the two of them.

* * *

 _June 6th 2020. Queens. 21:45 EST_

Anthony Romero was early again. He kicked a pebble into the ocean water, only for the tide to hit the shore, rejecting his gift. The boy hated waiting around aimlessly in the night, especially in costume, he started to overthink things.

Tonight it started with thinking back to his job. Why'd he leave so early? It's not like he was excited to come tonight, was he? What was there to be excited for? Giving the League what he thought they deserved? The charming company? Getting beaten half to death?

Another pebble flew to the oncoming tide, gulped down into the black waters.

He never asked to be a superhero. He never asked for powers, or a special name, or a ridiculous mask or his stupid belt. God! Why'd that tall-ass in the mask have to make fun of his belt the other night?

Anthony reared back his leg, aiming his prized foot strike at the next pebble. And, his leg went flying, but no rock. He missed a pebble? How on God's green earth did he _miss_ the pebble? What the hell was wrong with him?!

Anthony vented his question with a half dozen stomps of his foot onto the small rock, crushing it completely before catching his breath and walking away from the crime scene.

"What'd it ever do to you?" a girl's voice asked, turning his head around fast enough to give himself whiplash. Gripping the handlebars of her bike, Weasel had joined him. "You doing alright KD?"

"We're not at nicknames yet, girly," he replied, turning away from her to get a better look at the nothingness out on the water.

Nicole Wesley recoiled at the comment, dismounting the bike with Junior perched on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to strike a nerve or anything."

Anthony pitied the timidity of the girl, but couldn't bring himself to apologize. He knew that even if he tried it'd come off as an insult, or a threat, or something in between, so he just chose to shut it, inviting another killer silence.

Nicole probably should've just let their conversation end there. But, she couldn't help herself from asking just one of the questions that had plagued her ever since her meeting in Blüdhaven a week ago.

"So... do you believe them?" she asked plainly. "Vixen, Hood, do you believe them about this whole conspiracy thing?" the girl did her best to act as if she was only dubious, as opposed to absolutely sure they were all lying through their teeth. "I mean, it is a little out there, right?"

"Vixen's a hero," he resolutely stated, as if it was answer enough. "Wouldn't surprise me if those League schmucks got caught up in some stupid mind control plot."

"Schmucks?" Nicole angrily replied. "The Justice League has saved your life more times than you'll ever know. I'd think a superhero like you would be a bit more understanding of what they've done for all of us."

Knuckle laughed, but it came out more like a rough bark. "Oh, sure! When the cameras turn on they're all action for the spotlight," he conceded. "But, I've never seen the red undies in an alley at night, where's a Green Lantern when a gangster starts recruiting kids out of junior high?"

"They've got more important things to watch out for," Weasel defended, blood boiling that the boy could say any of this with a straight face. "The League isn't perfect. But, they're the ideal for the world, they're meant to represent the good that we can all aspire to. How many kids do you think they help just by serving as an example?"

"Well now, don't they have you wrapped around their finger?" Knuckle accused. Weasel froze. Had she said too much? Was her cover blown? Her mission failed just like that? There was no way, right?

"I mean," she quickly took to course correcting. "When they're not mind controlled, or whatever, obviously, now they're a problem."

"So, you do believe those three?" Knuckle observed with a bit of confusion. "Why even ask, no need to find out which side of the fence I'm on if you've made up your mind."

Weasel felt a thin volley of sweat forming up on her brow. How could she consider herself worthy of being a part of the Team with her brother if she failed her very first mission?

"I could've taken us to _any_ restaurant in the state. And you refuse every offer for a six-dollar hot dog?" The voice got closer as it chastised, and both heroes turned to see Karisma and X walking towards the ocean water, the boy holding half the meal he was being scolded over. His mask was tilted up to allow the boy to eat, revealing his face without much care. It was the first time Anthony had seen the other boy's face. The argument between he and Nicole stopped, much to the latter's silent relief.

Ellis laughed at himself. "How can you _not_ want a New York street dog? Plus, I had to confirm my suspicions," he admitted.

"And what suspicion was that?"

"Now I can die happy. Chicago's got better street dogs," he said resolutely, wrapping the last bits of his food up and tossing it away in a grimy metal bin. "You okay?"

He was addressing Knuckle Duster, who'd spaced out for a moment before the question brought him back to level ground. "Hm? Yeah. Wait, no, I just heard somebody claim Queens' hot dogs weren't the pinnacle of street cuisine. I heard a lie."

"Sorry to offend," X said with a laugh, his face still openly exposed. "So, it's safe to assume you're from around here?"

Knuckle realized what he was saying, and admonished himself for revealing something like that. "Not exactly," he tried to recover, doing his best to insert some more edge into his voice, "just... familiar is all," he lied, turning away from the bare-faced boy and back to the water.

"Sushi rolls, filet mignon, caviar, Michelin stars and you guys are arguing about hot dogs," Yasmine lamented.

"How's the arm, Weasel?" Ellis asked, nodding towards the girl, who was still recovering from her cover coming under fire.

"Oh," she said, rubbing where her recent wound's mark was fading, "I'll be fine, seems it went clean through. I'm ready for action."

"Hopefully we won't have to break in this time around," Yasmine noted, nodding towards an expanding break in the seawater. Emerging from the murky depths was the Manta Flyer, discretely arriving against the shore.

"That supposed to mean Atomix isn't showing up?" Knuckle asked, walking towards the ship's opening hatch.

"Must've wanted to join early with the other two," Weasel merely shrugged, but took note of the change as part of Atomix's behavior for her ever expanding report, to be turned in at her next appointment in Blüdhaven.

* * *

 _June 6th 2020. Atlantic Ocean. 22:04 EST._

"C'mon, now Manta, my guy," Dilias Sangriente pleaded, walking close behind the super villain as he made his way through the Manta Sub. "Why can't we just move up part of the schedule? I'm dying for my end of the bargain here. Starving for that Trident."

"Manipulating any part of the plan on a personal whim will, no doubt, obliterate the integrity of Operation Saratoga," Black Manta curtly replied. "You'll get your prize soon enough."

Dilias snarled quietly. He despised being deprived of his goodies. "You're just nervous I'll bail out once I get my paws on it, right? We can just make a deal, Manta, you know I'll keep my word then."

"I know better than to make a deal with a devil."

"No fun, no fun at all!" the demon complained.

The two boarded a lift to transfer them from the Sub to the recently returned Manta Flyer. "I'm sure you'll have plenty of fun, now that all your friends are back on board."

"Oh, please," Dilias' eyes just about rolled out of their sockets, "They're even less fun than you, my guy. Even that one girl was a let down, let alone all the boy scouts you brought onboard. I assumed your dream team would be a bit less straight and narrow."

"If you truly think them all so noble," Manta chastised, "then you really must pay closer attention."

He wanted to press the older man for more answers, but their privacy was cut short by Vixen appearing between the lift's opening doors.

"Should I be worried about you too getting to know each other better?" she asked with a clear edge of both fear and apprehension towards the duo. Dilias reveled in the former of those two.

"We're just palling around, y'know?" the demon answered, slinging his arm over the slightly taller villain with a toothy grin.

Manta stiff armed the teenager, pushing him firmly off his armor. "Are the rest assembled?"

"Just waiting on your pretty faces."

Manta let go of Dilias so he could breathe easy, and walked by the woman to the same conference room in which their meeting had concluded last time the team was assembled.

"For the record," Dilias remarked, slowly following his lead, "you're not so bad yourself."

"I could rip you in half without breaking a sweat."

"I'd be kind of into that…" he jokingly admitted, shooting a wink that earned him a groan of disgust from the grown woman, who was now last to enter into the room.

In the conference room, the other six teenagers were already seated, embroiled in sparse conversation concerning food, much to some member's frustration, other's agitation, and Red Hood's starvation, as the young man was beating himself over not picking up some take-out before getting on the ship.

"Trust me," Knuckle affirmed brashly. "There's this Italian joint just a bus ride from where we got picked up. I'd have it three times a day, if I could. I'd live there," he claimed.

"I don't need your fine dining," X rebuffed, "after a night in the mask, I take down two street dogs, and I'm out for about a day. I hibernate. Absolutely prime."

"You don't need to starve yourself while you're out," Kid Star argued. "I just bring a coffee when I'm in costume, hide it somewhere when that action starts and I'm good to go."

"Do you order your drinks in costume too?" Atomix asked with a grin, "I'd love to see what you do when they get your order wrong."

"Oh, they _know_ my order, buddy," she said, "First name basis with every barista in Gotham."

"I bet they still misspell 'Kid Star,' on your cup though," he noted.

"They're getting better, though. Last night, I got 'Kick Star,' so… yeah."

Yasmine scoffed at these claims, "You guys haven't eaten until you've been on a world tour. I was falling in love with chefs in four different continents."

"Just give me a backyard barbecue," Weasel said, reminiscing about the smell of ribs on a grill. "You guys think Manta cooks on here? With his little manta apron, manta stove and manta appetizers?" she joked, earning some laughter from the team around her.

She was happy to hear her sense of humor resonated with the crowd, but immediately realized what she was doing. This was way too close, right? She didn't have any reason to be cracking jokes with the people she was meant to take down. But, steadily calmed herself, grinning at Atomix's response. No, it was just a part of the act. Nicole was just pretending to get closer to them, that was all.

The Trinity formed up in the conference room, finding a much more lighthearted team than the one they'd face one week prior. Dilias found a seat on the opposite end of the table, leaving plenty of space between himself and the rest of the teenagers. Their arrival signaled the end of the jokes, and the laughter subsided as the three took a stance in front of the screen.

"Glad to see you four join us," Vixen honestly noted. She appreciated the extra numbers on her side. "Like we promised last week, you guys are going to be going through training all weekend. If all goes well, we'll consider beginning what we call Stage Two at the end of it."

Kid Star broke in, jokes and coffee firmly out of her mind, "Is that what you guys were setting up in Gotham? With that moth guy and his goons?"

"Killer Moth and his men are not a bunch of 'goons,'" Black Manta jumped to defense, "after what they'll be doing for us, we're in their debt."

"Perfect," Atomix said, "I love making shady deals with shady characters," the comment was meant to be a jab at Manta, but it merely brought Yasmine's mind to her hand.

"Well, more shady characters," Kid Star gestured towards Red Hood and Black Manta. Despite arriving on the ship a bit early, it seemed neither were privy to what had gone down before the other four had joined up.

"You guys showed a lot of promise," Red Hood ran with the verbal baton, trying to reset the conversation. "But, you've all got glaring holes in your techniques and approaches that we're going to start curbing tonight. You'll be training with the three of us, with each other, and even with some of Manta's more experienced troopers to shore up your mistakes, and get you ready for the field."

The screen behind them flickered to life, showing a few pictures of Weasel in action across the Sub. Her fighting with a trooper, stealing the information from the Sub, and even getting her shot, the images reviving memories of the pain that had started to subside in her arm.

"Weasel, you and Junior work well in acquiring information," Vixen pointed out, "But, if you can't defend yourself in a fight, then you're a liability in the field." The comment was callous but honest, which made it hurt even more. Especially when it came from a traitor, Weasel didn't take lightly to the words. "You'll be working with Red Hood on that," the man gave a wave of acknowledgement at his name being called.

Kid Star's pictures were next to come up, but the girl interrupted before Vixen could continue. "I'm sorry," she said. "But, could these comment cards be given privately? I'm not sure I enjoy everyone on the team knowing where I come up short," she said. Her eyes kept contact steady with the woman, but Dilias rolled his own all the same.

"Equally as important as knowing your neighbor's strengths is knowing her weaknesses," Black Manta dismissively explained. "Otherwise, it will be impossible to learn how to strategize and coordinate properly. Of course," he paused for a moment, "if you'd like Ms. McCabe to be a bit nicer with her words, I'm sure she can find the vocabulary to accommodate your… _feelings,_ " he said the last word as if he was talking about fairies, discussing a subject matter that was mythical and preposterous, much to Kid Star's contempt.

"I wouldn't have put it that way," Vixen quickly said, "but, he has a point. We had a discussion about you all receiving training," she added, and then continued with her presentation.

"Your metahuman powers are strong, but your energy fails to keep up the pace they can set," Vixen explained, highlighting a few images of her flight speed decreasing and energy bolts becoming less powerful. "You'll be running endurance training with Black Manta," she noted nervously. Black Manta gave a slight nod, as if to parrot Red Hood's actions, but Kid Star gave no such polite response.

Atomix was shown next, in his fights with Trooper B-652 and Dilias. "The Firestorm Matrix is one of the most unique and powerful ability suites," Vixen plainly stated. "But, exploring that set of powers is important, you need to be fighting in a way that uses the best part of your powers for each given situation. No offense intended," Vixen was now trying to curb the critical edge of her words after Manta's interruption, "you seem a little green in fights with people you can't just blast away. You'll be running a variety of combat simulations with a squadron of manta troopers on the Sub."

"I don't get a cool training partner?" he complained, to a bit of scolding from Jason, whom he tried to ignore.

Vixen moved on to Anthony, and before he'd even heard any comments, the boy was already prickly and ready to lash out at the comments, "What've you got for _me_?"

"You've got combat experience," Vixen said, prefacing the medicine with sugar, "but, you're overly reliant on your metahuman powers. As a result, they become drained away before the confrontation is over. You'll be learning to fix that with me," she said with a grin. But, Vixen knew the boy would've probably gotten enraged at the idea of learning with anybody but the woman who had invited her.

"Yasmine," she moved on, and the screen came to life with shots of Yasmine on her phone, waiting patiently or doing very little in their last mission. "Your power is unique and potent. But, it's clear you have the least amount of combat experience here. You'll be going through basic training with a batch of manta recruits." 'And, hopefully,' Vixen thought, 'they'll pass on some humility.'

The last screen was split down the middle with pictures of Dilias and X.

"Nice," Dilias said, he'd been anxious to fight the guy since he'd arrived, finally it seemed they'd be paired together.

"X, you're the only one of this team with no extranormal abilities or special equipment. It's clear you also have little experience fighting against the supernormal. To give you that, you'll be getting a crash course in the strange with your new sparring partner for the weekend, Dilias."

"We're gonna get real close," Dilias followed up with a smile. "Now what possible flaws could you have identified in myself, Animal Woman?"

"None," Vixen stated, turning off the screen. "Despite your failure to combat the correct opponents, you've got no flaws in your skills or fighting capability. Enjoy your weekend."

Dilias laughed maniacally, "Oh, I will now. Whoo, you sure know how to swell a guy's head, sister!" he then not-so-quietly whispered to Atomix, "And other bits and pieces too, if you catch my drift?"

"That's enough," Vixen curtailed the joke, "You're all dismissed, Manta's going to show us we're we'll all be sleeping, eating, and learning for the next few days."

"Yes ma'am!" Dilias couldn't get over the humor of everybody getting their weakness shoved in their face except for him. "Let's get to some hard work, heroes!"

"Ah, Red Hood, could I talk with you, for just a minute?" As the group began to file out of the room, the hero nodded and hung back, staying quiet until the rest of them had left for their grand tour.

X stood, removing his mask. Red Hood didn't reciprocate the gesture, "Not disappointed about your assignment, are you, Ellis?"

"Of course not," the boy quickly answered with a shake of his head. "Well, maybe just a little, but that's not what I wanted to ask you about."

"What's up, then?"

"From what I understand," he began. "Black Manta is the one who chose every member on the team," X said, and Red Hood nodded.

"Everyone except for you, Ellis."

"Because you chose me," another nod from Red Hood, "but, why?"

"Feeling a little left out? No powers, no utility belt?" Ellis smiled politely at the joke, but it's clear he wasn't just looking for a punchline. "Vixen probably shouldn't have singled you out like that. But, the truth is, Ellis, that I don't fully trust a roster that Black Manta hand-picked. I wanted at least one person among these kids I could trust. And when I heard what you've been up to since we'd last met, I figured you were a shoe-in, utility belt or not."

"So, am I supposed to be your mole? Your eyes and ears?"

"No," Red Hood resolutely stated, wanting to curb that line of thinking. "You're just another member," Jason sighed. He was terrible at this crap, getting stuck to try and sort out feelings with these kids was impossible. It made him feel like he was lacking so many skills that normal people were supposed to have, ones he simply seemed to lack.

"Don't doubt your place on this team," is what Jason settled on, awkwardly patting the tall kid on the shoulder. "And don't doubt Dilias either, he wouldn't be on this ship if Vixen and I didn't see something beyond the whole evil demon thing."

"I'm sure there is," he said confidently. "I trust you. I have since you saved me."

"You're makin' me blush under this ol' mask," Jason said jokingly. "Just for that, I'll give you a little side quest," he offered, redoubling his efforts to make some sort of connection. If he couldn't manage it with Ellis, he wouldn't be able to do it at all. "There's something that Dilias wants out of this whole Operation," Jason told him. "I know what it is, I know why he thinks he wants it, _and_ I know why he really wants it. But, if you can tell me why he really wants it too by the end of the weekend, I'll… I don't know… I'll let you know where Manta hides his manta cookie jar."

Ellis laughed, slipping back on his mask before joining the rest of the team. "You got yourself a deal, Red Hood. I'm holding you to it."

"Just wait until you see his manta apron," Jason noted, leading the way out of the door, "it's adorable."

* * *

Kid Star and Black Manta had been the last to arrive at their training room after dropping everyone else and their belongings off in their respective rooms. She pulled her arm across her body as Manta fiddled away at some computer terminal.

"When are starting, big guy? I'm ready to get going," she hollered after him.

The man declined to respond, instead, concluding his business at the screen in front of him, and pressing a series of buttons on his forearm.

"Attention, all prospective members of Operation Saratoga," he announced. While Kid Star only heard the voice from across the floor, it boomed over every room in which the teenagers were preparing for their training. "All six of you have been assigned a single Proctor. For the duration of this weekend, they are your god."

Sadie rolled her eyes at the expression, but wasn't surprised at the dramatization coming from him.

"Pass your Proctor's test, and they'll reward you with the details of your role in Operation Saratoga's second stage. Fail to do so, and you'll be sitting this round out. There won't be any mulligans like the last time around, precisely because we can't afford mistakes in the field.

"I'd wish you all good luck, but, by this point, it would be sad to know you've been relying on such a thing."

* * *

Weasel stood at the opposite end of a mostly barren metal room from Red Hood. Black Manta's speech had just concluded.

"Your holsters," Red Hood began, "why does only one of them hold a pistol?"

Mixing truth with lies was the best advice she'd been given so far, and Nicole wasn't about to stray from Nightwing's tips and tricks. "One is for my blaster, one is for my brother's," she said, "I get his when I meet him again."

"He's a criminal, isn't he?" Red Hood asked, "when you meet him again, is he going to hand it over, or are you going to have to take it?"

Weasel knew that when she met Fang next, he'd be a changed kid, a hero like her. They'd both be a part of the Team, and on track to join the Justice League. He'd earned his weapon. But, as much as it pained her, she had to maintain the illusion. "I suppose I'll have to take it."

"We'll be playing paintball," Red Hood explained after the answer. "That gun there should be roughly the same as your own, except it won't hurt me as bad. You get splattered with paint, the game restarts. If you hit me, you win, and your training ends early. There's only two tricks to the game," he pointed to a metal table, "you can't use any of your normal tools, put them all aside except for the paintball gun."

Weasel sighed, she figured her matchup would go something like this. Take the tech away from the geek and force her to win without it.

"And, the second?" she asked, slowly disarming herself of all of her bombs, tools, and even Junior himself, who protested to his being sidelined for even a bit of practice.

Red Hood rolled paintball between his fingers for her to see, "I won't be using a gun."

* * *

Manta's speech had just ended when Vixen threw a thumb drive at Knuckle Duster. "You passed," she said plainly, standing with her arms akimbo.

Knuckle gripped the small device, but instantly saw through what he thought was a ruse, "Crap joke," he replied, "are we going to start training, or what?"

"Sure, we can go a few rounds if you want," Vixen shrugged. "But, the data on that drive outlines your role in the second stage. I'm your proctor. You have your prize. There's no reason for us to fight."

Knuckle Duster didn't sense the air of a lie or a joke around the woman. Just what the hell was being tested here?

* * *

The moment Manta's speech concluded another brash voice took up the role of being overly loud and obnoxious in Yasmine's face. "Alright, worms!" the man yelled, "you're to ignore what the big boss just said!"

He was acting like a drill sergeant of sorts. Decked out in a full suit of manta armor, with the exception of the helmet, he held a clipboard, and was flanked by a pair of intense looking manta troopers.

The room they stood in was massive, the size of a basketball gymnasium, stuffed with climbing ropes, walls, logs, pits of mud and a dozen or so other fully grown men surrounding Yasmine Smalls.

"For the duration of this weekend, you are all applicants for the prestigious position of manta trooper! Let me tell you upfront, you probably think you were incredibly big fish in whatever puddle you crawled out of, but out here, you are less than nothing until you wear one of these uniforms!"

Yasmine tapped her foot impatiently, her arms were crossed, and the routine was wearing on her. The other men around her, hardened and stone-faced seemed insulted that some teenage girl was hanging about so casually among them.

"In addition, you all either succeed or fail this test as a unit! If even one lowly son of a gun fails to meet my expectations, then you will all be swimming home!"

Yasmine interrupted the speech, "That doesn't include me, right? You just want me doing some drills, or something? Working out extremely far away from that, correct?" she gestured to the pit of mud. The three troopers in charge laughed at the girl.

"I am your Proctor," he introduced himself, "and your success rides on the backs of the valiant souls that surround you."

The applicants sneered and scowled at the uppity girl, as if ready to jump her in an alley.

"Best get to making some friends, little miss nobody."

* * *

Atomix was with a much larger squadron of manta troopers, roughly twenty fully armed men surrounded him in a smaller, bare, metal room. It had been almost five minutes since Manta had stopped talking, and the soldiers seemed content to just mill about aimlessly.

"So, who exactly is my Proctor?" Atomix asked, looking around at the faceless mob of armed goons. "What's my test here, huh?"

"Oh yeah, right," a soldier broke from the ranks of conversations. "I suppose I'm your Proctor."

"So what's my test?" the hero asked, a bit calmer now that some clarity had arrived onto the situation.

"It's almost ready, lemme just explain something to you first," the proctor, pointed up to the ceiling, between the lights was a cylindrical, black tube, a menacing machine attached with cables and tubes to various components along the ceiling. "That beauty right there," the Proctor explained, "is my heat seeking super soaker."

"What, that's my test? A water gun?"

"That's part of it, sure!"

The Proctor held aloft a thumb drive, shaking it around like a treat. "Get your hands on this, and you win! It'll be on my person at all times, so, once the challenge starts, find me, steal it, and you win!"

"When does the test start?"

"That's as good a cue as any," the Proctor said with a shrug, making some motion with his free hand. The moment he did, the lights shut off, and a great chorus of mechanical sounds started up. As Atomix's eyes adjusted, he noticed that walls had been raised all around him. He couldn't quite peer through the darkness, but it looked like they extended all the way to the ceiling, forming a pitch black, metal labyrinth.

"I'm not sure if it was clear," a smarmy voice shouted from some ways away. "But, that means the test has started!

* * *

The Hellborn and X had wasted no time with pleasantries. Once the speech ended, Dilias swallowed a flash drive with a malicious grin. As the other boy's sparring partner, the demon's only instructions were, "You do not get to pass. You have automatically failed your test on account of being a morally pretentious rear end. Please, try again next time!"

X had barely managed to get out a, "Wait-" when the demon began his flurry of attacks, summoning forth his Harvester scythe and beginning their fight.

* * *

After confirming the other tests had gotten underway, Black Manta returned to his own confrontation, but found Kid Star merely disappointed, as opposed to battle ready.

"You recruited me, right?" Kid Star asked, but didn't wait for an answer, "If that's the case then you've done your research into my power. You know as well as I do there's no such thing as endurance when it comes to my abilities. Either my battery is charged, or it isn't."

"The flaws and challenges that Vixen pointed out to you all were feints," Manta explained. "I figured there was a high probability you'd see through yours, that's why I volunteered to be your Proctor."

"Does that mean I've passed? What are you testing in the others?"

"Increasing the stamina of your ability is impossible," Manta agreed, but ignored her secondary questions. "What I'm actually testing you on is your coordination with your ability. In essence, I'm testing you on how much you trust your own power."

"I don't trust anything."

"A quality I find admirable. I wouldn't have it any other way," it was a genuine compliment, which sickened the girl even further than an insult from the guy. "So, I'll lay your test out rather simply.

"In essence, you're seeking seven pieces of information," Manta began to explain.

"I'm hoping for a lot more out of this whole Operation,: Kid Star interrupted, "By the way, why's it called Operation Saratoga, anyways?"

"In essence, you're seeking _eight_ pieces of information." Manta corrected himself, and the girl took the hint to shut her mouth. "You want the proper tests for each of your six teammates, the reasoning behind the name Saratoga, and," he held up the flash drive, "your role in the second stage. Every time you knock me down, I'll answer one of your questions honestly. Only after you can tell me what every member is being tested on, and what Operation Saratoga refers to will I give you the flash drive as an answer. And, once you've received the intelligence on the second stage, I won't answer any more questions, the test will be over."

"So in essence," the girl recapped, "every time I knock you down, I can ask a question, and you _have_ to answer it honestly."

"I'm perfectly comfortable giving you those eight pieces of information," Manta explained, "the _real_ question here is whether or not you're confident enough to knock me down more than eight times. How far are you willing to go for the answers you seek? Will you put your inclusion in the Operation at stake for getting a couple straight answers out of me?"

"I thought this test was supposed to be simple," Kid Star actually started to feel a bit excited for her test. If Manta was telling the truth, she could have unprecedented access to the man based on her performance.

Manta shifted his stance, discussion was to give way to battle. "Simple for me. All I have to do is stay on my toes."

"Black Manta," Kid Star couldn't help it, this challenge practically had her watering at the mouth with anticipation, "I think you might've seriously underestimated your opponent here."

"Prove it, Ms. Duncan."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading!

I apologize for this chapter being a little short. As the first in the Arc, I had to set up a lot of dominoes for the more exciting action in later chapters, hopefully it wasn't too boring despite that. But, yes, "Lower Class Love," the second Arc has begun! It should be a bit longer than the first. I might've been a little over eager in releasing this chapter, hopefully it wasn't too problematic despite that.

 **Review Responses:**

 _JackHammerMan:_ Thanks for the kind words! Backstories will be explored, especially the demon's complicated history/motivation.

 _FrozenHydra:_ Dilias looked like the perfect catalyst for a Deathstorm appearance, I'm glad his creator is alright with that. Also, no. There is no regular schedule for updating in the slightest. I'm The Worst.

 _JimmyHall24:_ Sorry to hear that. I'll try to make scenes more clear going forward.

 _AnotherBitesTheDust:_ Thanks for the kind words! At the moment at least, there are definite plans for some former Robin fun, don't you worry.

 _500wordsmore:_ I tried to take more time with the editing of this chapter, but re-reading is by far the hardest part of writing for me. I try to keep the cycle of answering and asking as fast as I can, I think it makes for good pacing. I haven't forgotten about the deal, there is a plan behind it!

 _FlamingFateZero:_ I've learned from my mistakes with the last story. I'm keeping my motivation at its peak. Hopefully the quality doesn't dip with my quick writing. Thanks for the kind words, I do my best to keep readers on their toes as much as the characters.

 _WhenUniversesCollide:_ A coincidental Ellis-centric chapter hopefully fixed any problems with misrepresenting him. Feel free to let me know if it still looks off target!

 _101romansoldier:_ I'm totally relieved to hear you're alright with the double agent twist, given she's your character and all. I was nervous about it being too far.

 _Dad. Hats:_ Characterization and character conflicts are the points I hope to best improve with this story. To hear that means a lot. I'll be doing my best to hold myself to the standard you've pointed out here. Hopefully you weren't left waiting too long.

A huge thanks to everyone who decides to leave any review. It really does help to get me motivated and I do my all to take all comments and criticisms to heart. I hope to see you for Chapter 5!


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